Sailboat Breaks Free From U-Haul, Shuts Down Fort Lauderdale Bridge Lanes

A sailboat being towed by a U-Haul vehicle came loose while crossing the Seventh Avenue Bridge over the New River in Fort Lauderdale, ending up on the side of the road as officers scrambled to manage traffic. Nobody was hurt in the incident.

The sailboat detached from the U-Haul on the bridge, according to WSVN, which first reported the incident. Officers closed two lanes on the bridge while they investigated how the boat became disconnected from the vehicle towing it, the station reported. The outlet's report, credited to reporter Kevin Boulandier, did not specify a time of day for the closure or say whether the sailboat sustained damage.

How the Boat Could Have Come Loose

Exactly how the sailboat separated from the U-Haul remains under investigation, per the station's report, but Florida law offers some clues about what officers may be checking. Under Florida Statutes Section 316.530, anyone towing a trailer or piece of equipment on public roads using a rear hitch is required to attach safety chains, cables, or another secondary device strong enough to keep the load connected even if the primary hitch fails. Violations are treated as moving traffic infractions.

Equipment compatibility is another factor investigators may weigh. U-Haul's own towing guidelines state that a rental setup must match the lowest weight rating among the tow vehicle, hitch receiver, drawbar, and hitch ball, with the company verifying tow capacity and hitch rating on rental contracts before a vehicle goes out. U-Haul also prohibits the use of weight-distributing hitches or sway-control devices on its standard trailer couplers, instead requiring renters to manually balance tongue weight to avoid dangerous trailer sway. It remains unclear whether the sailboat was mounted on its own custom trailer hitched to the U-Haul or on a U-Haul rental trailer, and whether safety chains were properly crossed and attached, according to the dossier of open questions surrounding the case. Police have not said whether any citations were issued to the driver.

A Bridge Built for Boat Traffic, Not Boat Breakdowns

The Seventh Avenue Bridge, also known as the Marshall Bridge, spans the New River at mile 2.7 in Fort Lauderdale as a bascule drawbridge subject to federal rules restricting draw openings during weekday rush hours, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. and 4:30 to 6 p.m., according to the eCFR. The bridge sits directly beside the historic Sailboat Bend neighborhood and Cooley's Landing Park at 420 SW 7th Avenue, a public facility with boat ramps and overnight docking along the New River, per Fort Lauderdale Parks & Recreation. That proximity helps explain why a trailered sailboat would be moving along SW 7th Avenue in the first place, given the area's dedicated public launch points.

Under Chapter 316 of Florida's traffic code, local police departments have full authority to close lanes, direct traffic, and investigate when disconnected equipment or spilled cargo creates a hazard on public roadways, according to The Florida Senate. That authority is what allowed officers to shut down two lanes on the bridge while sorting out what happened. Because downtown Fort Lauderdale has five drawbridges packed into a two-mile stretch of the New River, according to Nautic Nomad, arterial traffic on SW 7th Avenue, Andrews Avenue, and Davie Boulevard tends to be highly sensitive to any lane closure in the area.

A Region Built Around Boats

Incidents like this one are not unusual for a county with as much boat traffic as Broward. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission data ranks Broward among the state's top five counties for vessel registrations, with more than 47,000 registered boats contributing to over 1 million registered recreational vessels statewide. Florida also leads the nation in total registered vessels and boating accidents, accounting for roughly 10% of all vessel incidents nationwide in 2023, according to U.S. Coast Guard and state safety reporting cited by WUSF.

Fort Lauderdale's police and rescue crews are no strangers to marine-related calls, whether on the water or, in this case, on the road. Earlier in August, officers arrested a boater accused of ramming vessels while intoxicated at the nearby Bahia Mar Yachting Center, another reminder of how frequently the city's waterfront corridors generate emergency responses. No injuries were reported in this latest bridge incident, and police have not indicated whether further action is expected once the investigation into the disconnection wraps up.