Pirate ship ready to set sail again

Tuesday 25 January 2022

The pirate ship at Saumarez Park has been repaired after it was damaged by vandals and is ready to welcome children aboard again.

It has become the iconic feature of the children's playground after it was installed as part of a major refurbishment in 2015.

However, in April last year, the pirate ship was closed to young visitors as it was suffering from rot and part of it had been vandalised.

The flooring had been damaged, leading to a Police appeal for information. "It is unacceptable and is causing inconvenience for children and families who would otherwise enjoy the playground,” said the Police at the time.

An official from the States' Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure inspected the structure and recommended a wholesale survey by engineers.

Pictured: The pirate ship is six metres high and 29 metres long. It has been out of action for nearly a year.

The survey and a subsequent report led to a tender being put out for the repairs.

A local company undertook the repairs using timber provided by the Danish company which supplied the ship originally. 

“We’re really pleased that this playground equipment is back open again,” said Marco Tersigni of Agriculture, Countryside and Land Management Services, a section of the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure.

“It has taken a bit longer than we had hoped, in part due to the pandemic, which has meant that waiting times for timber supplies has been longer than normal. 

“Additional areas of rot were also identified during the course of repair, but now that this has all been fixed we hope the children of Guernsey look forward to having more swashbuckling adventures aboard the pirate ship.”