I'm very sad and disappointed to let you all know that overnight very early on Sunday Sep 16 the Western Shed caught fire and has been destroyed. We lost approx 45 boats made up of Sabots, Flying 11’s, cherubs and Lasers. Approx half were junior classes so the kids have suffered the most from this loss. Many tears yesterday as well some kids just too sad to even come to the club to look. Many if not all of the Cherubs and Sabots were handmade by the owners.

At 3.33 am John Hayward started receiving texts from the alarm system telling him about smoke in the Western Shed. John got here about seven minutes later to find the shed completely alight. The Fire Brigade were already on the scene and were in the park above the shed. I arrived at 4.00 am to see large flames coming from the shed. The Fire Brigade had the fire out a little after 5.00.  

Our storage shed for the boats, The Western Shed , is a complete loss and will need to be rebuilt. While only made on a wooden decking with wooden beams and supports holding a metal color bond cladding it was a great shed for its use. Inside this shed we could hold up to 55 boats if full and thankfully wasn’t. Up until Saturday morning we had been siting two of the Club's small Ribs and we brought them to the main clubhouse Saturday night. 

We want to maintain a “Business as Usual “ momentum here. Drummond Cherubs already thinking of coming here next Saturday to sail with the remaining Cherub fleet which is great. The idea is for us to find boats and storage ASAP so our members can get back to doing what they love. I expect this coming Saturday to be an emotional day.

I don't have much more news about how the fire started at this time. The Police forensic team is currently on site examining the area.

On behalf of the club there has been a tremendous appreciation for the huge number of emails and messages of support and offers of assistance for boats, donations, and all the business owners who have offered prizes for a draw or equipment or replacement sails. 

To further assist with the replacement of the club's shed and to get their sailors back on the water you can donate by clicking the link https://asf.org.au/projects/lane-cove-12-foot-sailing-skiff-club/lane-cove-12ft-sailing-skiff-club-infrastructure-development/