I'm typing my thoughts as I watch:
- They should have initially tried a kinetic rope. Growing up in FL, that type of off-roading is all there really is, and we usually try snatching first because it's quicker, and if that doesn't work, then you winch.
- Sidenote: Before you actually hit the trail, make sure all your recovery gear is ready. For example, if I know I'll be mudding in a place like that, where both the front and rear of the stuck vehicle will be under the water/mud, I will attach my kinetic rope to the rear shackle hitch receiver and wrap the rope around the spare tire so if someone gets stuck all I need to do is get in position and run the rope to them. Similarly, in the front, make sure D-rings are only finger tight (I tighten with a wrench when on the road to prevent theft) so you can easily get them on/off.
- The recovery Jeep should have pulled in front of the stuck Jeep (not turned around) with their tires out of the mud (depending on the length of the kinetic rope) and attempt the snatch while driving forward.
- It looks like they used the stuck Jeep's winch rather than the recovery Jeep's winch. I've always done the opposite, because it's quicker for the recovery Jeep to free spool their winch out to the stuck Jeep and get everything rigged up, and if they need to reposition or strap themselves to a tree, it's easier to adjust the line length of the recovery Jeep. In this case, the stuck Jeep released line using their winch controller rather than free spool, probably because nobody wanted to get in the mud to switch to free spool and back, but it ended up adding time to the recovery.
- The recovery Jeep should not have driven in reverse while the winch was rigged up. I assume they were doing that to try to help pull the other Jeep out, but they could have been trying to dig their tires down to help them stay in place. Either way, doing that can introduce shock loads that aren't good for either the winch or winch line.
- Rather than re-rig the winch directly to that little tree, I would have tried positioning the recovery Jeep between the stuck Jeep and the tree and attaching the rear of the recovery Jeep to the tree using a tow strap. All the recovery Jeep needed was a little bit more help (in addition to its own brakes) to stay in place and that little tree probably would have provided that and not broken in the process.
I made this video in 2007 before I even bought my Jeep. My buddies had Land Rovers so I went off-roading with them and bought my Jeep shortly thereafter. You'll see a similar mud bug and trying to recover first using a strap followed by a winch. I think you have to watch directly on YouTube bc they flagged it for a copyright infringement due to putting a song in there: