Vandals hit hard at a St. George's business over the weekend, setting a parasail operator's boat ablaze in St. George's Harbour.

Owner and operator of Island Parasailing, Phillip (Phoopa) Anderson, arrived at his business yesterday morning and was shocked to find his boat engine had been doused with diesel fuel and set on fire.

And he claimed that as a result of the senseless act, his business is set to lose between $5,000 to $6,000 this week, while the boat is being repaired.

Mr. Anderson estimated that the vandals struck between 12.30 a.m. and 5 a.m. yesterday morning and although he said he had no immediate suspects in mind, he said he has received threats in the past about the operation of his parasailing business in St. George's.

"It's deliberate," he said. "No question about it. We've had threats to get our business out of town. But this is about the lowest thing that somebody can do to get someone out of business. What they were trying to do was burn the whole boat down.

"I'm just an ordinary guy trying to run a business and this is what they are going to do?"

Mr. Anderson explained that in addition to the verbal threats, there were other telling signs that led up to yesterday's arson attack.

He said that recently a sign that advertised their business in St. George's square, was deliberately torn down and thrown into the nearby harbour.

Mr. Anderson's parasailing business, is one of two that operate from out of the East End and he explained that his operates out of the White Horse Tavern.

He expressed particular concern, because the fire set on his boat, which is moored along the dock, could have spread to the restaurant.

Island Parasailing employee, Andrew Smith, who also surveyed the damage, added: "When I come in I make sure that everything is in order, but when I opened, I noticed some burnt matches and when I opened the hatch I saw the batteries had been melted, the wiring fried and the engine was toast. It could have been a lot worse, because if the winds were a little stronger last night, the whole of White Horse could have gone up. Whoever did this is gonna get caught, because it looks like they left in a hurry. They left all the evidence here. It's heinous that somebody would do that to him."

Mr. Anderson said he hoped to have the boat up and running before the week is out and he sent out a stern warning to the vandals.

"This will be solved," he said. "The last thing I want to happen is for this person to think that they have stopped my business. We are champions and we will rise above this."

Police are continuing their investigation of the incident and any witnesses are asked to call Eastern CID at 295-0011.