Boats on Sydney Harbour worth thousands of dollars have been burnt and had holes drilled into their hulls by vandals, after paddling clubs were forced to vacate their usual training grounds to make way for a new development.
The state government is funding a flash makeover of Pyrmont’s Bank Street Park, underneath the Anzac Bridge, with new paths, a playground, a cafe, and a new storage facility for dragon boat and outrigger canoe clubs, which have used the spot for decades as a launch point for training at Blackwattle Bay.
Li-Ray Kin and his fellow club members were grateful for the offer of a temporary base for their boats at Glebe Foreshore Parks – but then vandals struck.Credit: Janie Barrett
While the clubs overwhelmingly support the development, they must find temporary spaces in the city’s already crowded harbour while the new facility is constructed over the next two years.
Bluefins Dragon Boat and Outrigger Canoe Club thought they were one of the lucky ones when they, and other members of Dragon Boats NSW, were provided access to a location at Glebe Foreshore Parks, until they began being targeted by vandals.
First came the graffiti, then ropes were cut and burn marks left on the boats. Last Tuesday, club coach Li-Ray Kin was at a 5.30am training session when his boat began filling with water.
These holes were drilled into one of the Bluefins’ canoes. Credit: Janie Barrett.
The paddlers brought their boats to shore to discover several large holes drilled through the fibreglass.
“We weren’t expecting it. Since we are paddling in the same waters, we thought the same welcome would be given to us on the other side of the bay. But obviously not,” Kin said.
The vandalism, which Kin said could cost thousands to repair, was reported to police.
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