Five boats belonging to the Dartmouth men's and women's crew teams and one private boat were damaged in a weather-related traffic accident last week on Interstate 91. The accident did not injure the driver, novice men's heavyweight crew coach William Scoggins.
Driving near Dummerston, Vt., Scoggins lost control of the truck around 6:30 p.m. on March 26 and spun completely around, and the trailer -- carrying 13 boats -- capsized over an embankment as the truck slowed to a halt, according to varsity men's heavyweight crew head coach Scott Armstrong.
One 60-foot women's eight-person shell was totaled, as was a 25-foot privately-owned single. In addition to one boat that will be repaired by the team, a 60-foot men's eight-person boat and two 45-foot men's four-person boats were sent to the manufacturer in New Haven, Conn., for repairs.
Scoggins was returning from a spring-training trip in Oak Ridge, Tenn., when he encountered slushy and icy conditions during a late-season snowstorm.
"We came over a road, and all of a sudden it turned to sleet," said varsity men's lightweight coach Richard Grossman, who drove his team's boats over the same road an hour earlier.
The conditions were "very difficult," he said, adding that he saw two overturned cars on that section of road. "It wasn't the kind of thing where you had some forewarning. Literally, it turned to ice right between two exits."
Scoggins was issued a Vermont Traffic Complaint for excessive speed for the road conditions, according to a press release from the Vermont State Police.
In order to right the trailer and clear the highway, Scoggins and Vermont State Police officers unloaded the boats -- some of which weigh several hundred pounds apiece -- into the median, blocking the highway's passing lane for much of the evening.
"We sent a trailer down Friday" to the manufacturer, Armstrong said. He said he expected the repairs to take two to four weeks to complete and to cost between $3,000 and $5,000.
How soon the destroyed boats -- which can cost between $20,000 and $30,000 if purchased new -- can be replaced is "up to alumni -- they're the ones who buy our boats," women's crew captain Elizabeth Badger '02 said.
"I hope the College will be able to pick up some of [the costs] through insurance. I think they'll cover a significant part of it," Grossman said.
"We've only had two major accidents ever," the last one about a decade ago, Grossman said. The mishaps were both weather-related.
The accident shouldn't hinder the team's practice routine. "We still have enough shells ... to get everyone out every day," Armstrong said.
Many of the damaged boats were not the best of the 28 four- and eight-person boats the College owns, Armstrong said, adding that those boats are reserved for races.
Though travel with the trailer in wintry conditions is usually discouraged, he said, "driving the trailer in snow is part of rowing at Dartmouth."
