Dear Sir,

I would like to bring to the attention of your readers a challenge to the residents of Bailey’s Bay. The wrecked remains of a power boat and other large timbers are strewn on Bailey’s Bay beach, some of it embedded in the sand.

As you know, the abandoned boat Trojan was left to wreck on the rocks over the winter and government departments such as Marine and Ports, and Environment and Natural Resources were unable or unwilling to deal with it because of antiquated salvage laws and other complications.

This was brought to the public’s attention in an article by Paul Johnston (The Royal Gazette, January 15, 2018).

I and my husband spent several hours on January 13, a Saturday, picking up a truckload of seat cushions, sheets of plywood and plastic and other debris, which Anne Hyde of Keep Bermuda Beautiful helped to arrange to be trucked away.

Warwick Academy students, staff and other kind souls spent the morning of March 10 cleaning up further debris (The Royal Gazette, March 12, 2018, Page 6); we’re now facing a third major clean-up on the morning of May 19.

The flotsam from the wreck has been joined by a large wooden raft and punts of various sizes and conditions, some licensed and some not. Some of this debris must be dug out, hauled up to the road and cut up before it can be trucked away, and yet we are determined to have a neighbourhood beach attractive to look at and safe for children to play on.

However, it seems grossly unfair that despite our paying our taxes for government services, I and my neighbours are left to clean up a mess of others’ making and pay trucking and tipping fees with no help at all from the Government.

If any of your readers would like to help us, we invite them join us next Saturday between 9.30am and 11.30am to remove this eyesore and return our beach to its proper condition.

JENNIFER HIND

Bailey’s Bay