Fire destroys two €100,000 yachts

TWO valuable boats were destroyed and hundreds were saved after fire ripped through part of one of the country’s biggest boat yards at the weekend.

A 35-foot racing yacht and the 35-foot cruiser, Dignity, which were in dry storage at Crosshaven Boatyard in Co Cork, were destroyed in the blaze in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The vessels, which are owned by locals, are worth about €100,000 each.

Forensic experts examined the scene and believe the fire was started accidentally.

They are focusing their attention on a dehumidifier which was installed recently on board one of the destroyed vessels.

Their fibreglass hulls burned rapidly and the fire spread damaging two more boats which were in storage nearby.

There were up to 300 boats in the storage yard at the time.

“We were very lucky. It could have been a holocaust,” Crosshaven boatyard broker, Donal McClement, said last night.

“The members of Crosshaven Fire Brigade are to be complemented. If they hadn’t attended as promptly as they did, it could have been a lot worse.”

It is understood the fire broke out on board one of the vessels at around 4am.

A man who was delivering newspapers to a local shop spotted the blaze and alerted the fire service.

Members of Crosshaven’s retained fire brigade responded and they managed to contain the blaze quickly before it spread across the yard.