Yacht club left with $10,000 damage bill

THE South Gippsland Yacht Club has been left with a repair bill tipped to exceed $10,000, after its roller door was rammed in the early hours on Monday, April 27.

Police are investigating the ramming, with officers told a 4x4 vehicle rammed the roller door of the yacht club.

The damage was first discovered by members of the Inverloch Icebergs swimming group, who noticed the damaged door and alerted both the Yacht Club and the police.

The damaged door compromised access to the club, leaving space wide enough for people to fit through.

Police said officers were told the offenders gained access to the premises, however it is not believed anything was stolen.

Mr Keily said early advice given to the club suggested a vehicle may have been reversed into the roller door.

“A vehicle looks like it’s been reversed into it, but they can’t determine what type of vehicle,” he said.

Various parts believed to be from a damaged vehicle, including reflectors and taillights, were also found on the ground near the club.

At this stage, Mr Keily said the damage appeared to be limited mainly to the roller door, as well as the club’s access point, although the full extent of the damage is yet to be revealed.

“At the moment the damage is mainly to the roller door and access into the club, but because the roller door is damaged, we can’t get the rescue boat out to do a full inspection of it,” Mr Keily said.

“There may be further damage, but we can’t quite access it to determine what it is.”

“It’s just the damage at the moment, because the way they damaged the door, you couldn’t get anything out anyway,” Mr Keily said.

He said the incident has created unnecessary stress for everyone involved at the fully volunteer-run club, with not only repairs being required, but also the consideration of extra security measures.

“There’s a lot of work to be done regarding the repairs and replacing damaged parts,” he said.

“We’re going to look at installing new CCTV to cover the area, but there’s a lot of damage that’s just completely unnecessary.”

The cost of replacing the roller door is expected to be more than $10,000, and that number could creep up depending on the state of the equipment inside the shed.

The South Gippsland Yacht Club is completely run by volunteers and has anywhere between 100 and 150 members.

Some of its sailing season events include both racing and non-racing sailing days, invitation days, the Wooden Dinghy Regatta, ladies sailing days, scout group visits, introduction days and sailing lessons.

Mr Keily said the club had experienced some minor break-ins before, with things such as marine radios being stolen.

No arrests have been made at this stage.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, has dashcam footage or information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.