Fire destroys £70,000 boat

A yacht was destroyed by fire after an on-board blaze last Friday afternoon.

The Saby, a Fisher 34, built in 1980, was owned by Clive and Jenny Smith from Freshwater.

It was moored on a pontoon close to the Folly Inn on the River Medina and Clive said: “It is destroyed. No one was on board at the time and I got a phone call around 3.15pm to say it was alight. I thought it was a prank at first, but then other people contacted me.

“It was worth between £70-£80,000 and we’re dealing with insurers now. They will take it out of the water and then inspect it to see what caused the fire; at the moment we have no idea.

“We bought it in 2017 and completely rebuilt it with new electrics, sails and rigging.

“This summer we were planning to go to Paimpol, in Brittany, to celebrate the ‘Festival du Chant de Marin’- sea-songs from around the world, but that trip has been ruined.

“Life moves on, but, thankfully no one was hurt. The worst thing was that there were lots of memorabilia on board, with personal gifts given to me for the boat by friends who are no longer here, as well as all my seafaring certificates.”

Fire appliances, from Ventnor, Newport and East Cowes, were in attendance, with Bembridge RNLI and Ventnor and Bembridge Coastguard teams also called to the scene.

A notice to local mariners was issued and floating protective booms were put in place to help protect the environment.