Vandal does significant damage to St. Margarets Bay rescue vessel

By CityNews Halifax staff

A volunteer-run search and rescue organization in St. Margarets Bay is reeling after a vandal caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage to one of its vessels.

The incident happened sometime early Tuesday, according to Capt. Anthony Garron with the St. Margarets Bay Marine Search and Rescue Society.

“At some point between 7 and 9:30 Tuesday morning the boat was vandalized. It was caught on closed-circuit TV,” said Garron. “His vandalism was extensive, there was about $29,000 in damage done to the vessel, including cutting the tube lengthways down the side.”

The damage done to the boat was extensive enough that it could not be repaired, so a replacement part needs to be flown in. Garron said he’s hopeful the boat will be back on the water in two to three weeks.

Insurance could help, but Garron says for a not-profit, even a few thousand dollars is a significant amount of money.

He said he’s glad no one was hurt in the incident.

“I saw the footage of him and he was carrying a very large knife. So it was good no one interrupted him, I would suggest,” Garron said.

Garron says police have told him an arrest has been made and the culprit was allegedly damaging vehicles throughout the area.