What was this person thinking of???

They probably could have got at least $1K. Or they could have got a new or used mast.

What was the motivation of the sale? Reminds me of the story of the guy who ran off with his secretary. He phoned his soon-to-be ex-wife from the Bahamas and told her to sell his Porsche and send him the money. She took out an ad in the paper and sold the Porsche for $50 and sent it to him. Probably an urban legend, but amusing.