My boat sinking was no accident

A MAN whose boat sank in the QEII Marina thinks it might have been done deliberately. Two days after Graham Roussel checked his boat on pontoon AF, the Harbour Authority called to tell him it had sunk.

'I've been told by another person that somebody had been seen filling a boat with a hose, but I've no proof,' he said.

Mr Roussel, 64, a semi-retired carpenter, shares the 19ft Fletcher Faro day cruiser with son Trevor, 36. They have owned the boat since June.

The satellite navigation system, VHF radio and fish-finder were all destroyed in the incident. Both Yamaha engines had to be partly stripped before they could be restarted.

'A boat just doesn't sink within two days,' said Mr Roussel.

The Harbour Authority advised him to contact divers and his insurance company. The divers' bill alone has cost £350 and he estimates the total cost of damage will be about £2,000.

He hopes his insurance company will meet the cost.

'Two boats have sunk within a few days of each other and I think people should be made aware.'

Home Affairs and Transport Board president Mike Torode's boat Stornella recently sank in the QEII Marina.

Harbour master Captain Robert Barton said two or three all sank at the same time and there was a good chance that some had been flooded by rainwater.

'If there was any indication of foul play that we were aware of, we would have reported it to the police,' he said.

'We have no evidence of any boats being sunk deliberately.'

Capt. Barton said there was no question of foul play as far as Deputy Torode's boat was concerned.

Mr Roussel said his vessel had adequate cover to protect it from the rain. He did not report the incident to police because he had no firm evidence to support his suspicions.

A police spokeswoman said only one incident of suspected vandalism involving the QEII Marina had been reported this year. It involved a damaged boat cover.

People who have their suspicions should always report incidents, she added.

'People should not assume that we won't be able to act. If you have such a problem, come forward and we will always take complaints seriously.

'Someone else might have seen something that gives us the lead we may need in order to pursue enquiries.'

Previously, Mr Roussel owned an open 16ft fishing boat that he kept at the Fish Quay. Friends used it as a tender for boats moored in the Pool.

Early last summer, Mr Roussel's boat was untied from the quay and, unable to start it, the perpetrators left it to drift. Another was taken at the same time and run onto rocks near Castle Cornet.