Sydney sailing club vows to rebuild after fire

Lane Cove sailing club launches appeal after fire destroys dozens of boats.

Lane Cove Sailing Club has launched an appeal to raise money to replace boats and rebuild its storage shed which was destroyed in a fire in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The fire destroyed as many as 50 fibreglass boats, including Cherubs, Lasers, Sabots and Flying 11s. Police are investigating the cause of the blaze and it has been declared a crime scene. Social media posts have suggested "view enhancement" may have been a possible motivation.

The club estimates the cost of replacing the shed and the boats could run as high as $700,000. A GoFundMe page launched by the club has already raised over $22,000 from 133 donations.

Club Commodore Max Grundy said that the financial cost was just one part of the loss, as the young sailors formed an emotional attachment to their boats and were all devastated by the event.

Eight of the boats lost were Cherubs, including "irreplacable" hulls such as Rolf Lunsmann's Alchemy in which he sailed 15 consecutive Nationals.

Sydney's North Shore has seen a series of boat shed fires over the years including at SCECGS Redlands at Riverview and the University of Sydney boat shed at Linley point in 2006, the Marist Sisters' College boat shed at Woolwich in 2010, and in the grounds of Gladesville hospital in 2015.

A police task force was set up to investigate the spate of fires in 2006 but the arsonist was never caught.