- This ice cream vending Icarus dared to get too close to the sea.
Few things taste better than some cold ice cream on a hot day on the beach. The treat is so refreshing that you’d go to great lengths for it.
You’d even drag the ice cream truck out of the sea to save its precious cargo.
At least that’s what tourists on a beach in Cornwall, the U.K., recently tried. An ice cream vendor had parked his truck precariously on the beach and the incoming tide grabbed hold of the vehicle.
Beachgoers rushed to help, grabbing as many of the frozen treats as possible and taking them to a nearby cafe for safekeeping. Others, meanwhile, began to try and pull the vehicle out of the sea.
Unfortunately, the power of the tide was greater than that of the tourists (and a 4×4 vehicle). The ice cream truck drifted away from the shore and became stuck until the tide receded the next morning.
At that point, a local farmer was able to come by with his tractor and haul the van out. It may have sustained some damage, but at least some of the ice cream got saved.
Also, the ice cream vendor now knows how much his customers appreciate his service.
Good Business
The incident happened on July 7 on the Harlyn Bay beach in Cornwall. With its white sand and blue water, you probably wouldn’t guess it’s in England if someone showed you a picture of it.
As such, it’s no wonder the beach is a popular vacation destination. Indeed, the place was packed on the day when a Kelly Whip ice cream truck arrived.
You need to be in the right place and the right time to do good business, and the ice cream vendor certainly ticked both boxes. However, even the providers of frozen dairy are still human, and eventually, the vendor had to go answer nature’s call.
The owner of the truck probably didn’t expect to be gone for as long as he did. However, he is an older gentleman with more than 20 years of ice cream-selling experience behind him, and he said afterward that he experienced sudden stomach issues.
As his bathroom break dragged on, the rising tide slowly crept closer and closer to the ice cream truck parked on the beach. It reached the tires, then the bottom of the truck body, and finally it lifted the whole vehicle.
Slowly, the van began drifting out to the sea.
A Treat for the Fish
The tourists realized what was happening. With no time to lose, they quickly organized an impromptu rescue effort to try and save the beloved old ice cream vendor’s vehicle.
Some people began looking for the owner to let him know what was happening. Meanwhile, others started pulling ice cream out of the floating vehicle.
“We managed to get most of the ice creams off, except a few raspberry ripples which fell in the sea, and put them in a local cafe,” James Price, one of the vacationers who participated in the rescue, told The U.S. Sun.
With most of the ice cream saved, the tourists turned their attention to the truck itself. They attached a long rope to the truck and the crowd tried pulling the van ashore, but it wouldn’t budge from the soft, wet sand.
After manpower failed, one beachgoer brought their 4×4 vehicle down from the parking lot to repeat the effort. Sadly, even that wasn’t enough to overcome the pull of the ocean.
“[The truck] got further out and stranded, and the coastguard put a cordon around it with a diver to stop people going near it. There were loads of fish swimming around it, eating all the wafers and flakes,” Price recalled.
‘He Was Really Embarrassed’
At some point during the operation, someone had managed to locate the truck’s elderly owner. He was upset by the news, both because his truck was in the sea and because his ailing stomach had gotten the better of him.
“The owner was obviously upset as his van was completely ruined. … He was really embarrassed,” said Price.
Sadly, there was nothing anyone could do at this point. The ice cream truck had drifted too far, and now the surfers were making passes around it while fish circled the floating cones.
“One bloke took his fishing rod and caught a couple of sea bass which were circling,” Price said.
Finally, hours later, the tide receded. A local farmer came by with a tractor and pulled the waterlogged van out of the sea.
Fortunately, nobody got injured in the incident and some, if not most, of the old man’s merchandise was safe. Although he may suffer a financial setback by having to repair his truck, he’ll now his customers are waiting for him.
After all, they’re ready to dive into the sea for him—or at least his ice cream.