Fire Destroys Yacht At Port LaBelle

Likely Cause Of Fire Is Battery Failure Says Owner

LABELLE, FL. -- A billowing cloud of black smoke caught the attention of Port LaBelle residents Friday evening as a fire consumed a twin-hull sailboat at the Port LaBelle Marina in Hendry county.

Smoke could be seen for miles around the marina on the Caloosahatchee River after what the owner guesses might have been a battery failure that caused the total destruction of David Bernos' catamaran sailboat.

Bernos, a New Orleans native but living for years in Florida says he had a solar power system aboard the sailing ship called David's Wings and speculates that a battery might have shorted out, causing the fire.

Bernos, living aboard the yacht moored at the Port LaBelle Marina docks, was not there when the fire broke out, he said.

The LaBelle Fire department arrived with several trucks quickly and within 15 minutes had put out the fire, but too late to save the fiberglass hulled yacht which was totally destroyed. Firemen came back Saturday morning to check the scene.

(Video: Fire engulfs David's Wings destroying the yacht)