Originally Posted by WCAX News

Shelburne, Vermont - June 30, 2008

One person was injured Monday when a spectacular fire destroyed a sailboat in Shelburne Bay. Witnesses reported seeing the billowing plume of black smoke over Shelburne Bay from ten miles away. The source was a 26-foot fiberglass sailboat roasting at its mooring at the Champlain Yacht Club. Witnesses at the Yacht Club had never seen anything like it.

"Saw a little smoke coming out. Couple flames and the whole thing kinda erupted. Saw the mast go down and everything like that," said James Unsworth of Shelburne.

"They had a flash fire in the engine compartment when they were attempting to start the engine," explained Charlotte Asst. Fire Chief Dick St. George.

St. George says the exact cause is unknown but it appears the craft caught fire when two friends of the owner tried to start the boat's gasoline engine using a recently repaired carburetor.

One of the men was taken to Fletcher Allen for treatment for facial and arm burns that did not appear serious.