‘Heartbreaking’: Vandalism causes $29,000 in damage on N.S. search and rescue boat
Global News
A rescue vessel operated by Saint Margarets Bay Marine Search and Rescue has undergone thousands in damage after a vandal took a knife to the boat overnight on Tuesday.
The Saint Margarets Bay Marine Search and Rescue Society is on the receiving end of about $29,100 in damage after an individual vandalized the group’s rescue boat with a knife.
Anthony Garron, captain of the volunteer search organization, said after returning from a rescue mission on Monday night, his crew tied up their boat at the Shining Waters marina in Tantallon.
Upon awakening the following day, he received a phone call informing him that his boat had been damaged.
“Someone had taken a knife and cut from the very bow all the way straight back to the stern of the vessel, all the tubes that keep the boat afloat,” he said, adding that “every cent” of the not-for-profit’s operations and boat budget is raised within the nearby community.
“It’s senseless… To see this type of violence done to us is heartbreaking.”
Garron said not only was there a lengthy fundraising process for the three-year-old vessel, but the boat still hasn’t been entirely paid off, a “big setback” for his group of first responders.
“Our only goal is to bring back people safe and sound when they get into distress in the water,” he said.
