Abandoned Boat Burnt On Eastney Beach

Another Abandoned boat has been torched on Eastney beach. It follows the yacht we had torched before collection earlier this year. Luckily the fire didn’t seem to damage any other vessels. Although it’s anyone’s guess how much oil, fuel or burnt material has been washed into the harbour.

In November we were at Southsea marina to visit and clean a Mitchell boat that we had purchased. We had gone to the beach by the Hayling Island Ferry to see if any more boats had been abandoned.

A rough looking yacht stripped down and was tied loosely to a block on the beach. This is usually the tell-tale sign of an abandoned boat. The owner of the boat wants the boat to stay just long enough for the tide to drop and for them to disappear.

Fast forward a month to December and we were back in Southsea to move the boat we had bought to Gosport. Again we thought it would be interesting to see any fresh new abandoned boats. When we got closer to Hayling Ferry pontoon we could see the remains of the abandoned yacht. It wasn’t surprising in the slightest.

It may not have been the owner of course. Sometimes teenagers will take great pleasure in torching a vulnerable boat. However unscrupulous owners have been dumping the boats there for years. It not so common that they torch them. But it still isn’t right that many owners will escape any consequences. The bill for the disposal of the boat will either fall to the council or the harbour board.

The sooner people realise that their council tax is being spent on cleaning up boat owners mess the better. It is also unfair on leaving the Harbour Board to foot the bill as they are self funded by their members (the boat owners). The presence of the end of life boats means money that could be used to invest in the harbour has to be spent on boat disposal.

If you have seen abandoned boats whilst out at the beach, in a harbour, on a river or anywhere else, let us know. We are always interested to see the spread of what we see as a global issue.