Driving into school Tuesday morning, students saw a charred crew boat sitting on a rack near Whitman’s back entrance. Many may have laughed at the random sight, but don’t consider the consequences the burning may have on the crew team.

An unknown offender burned a privately-owned crew boat stored by the baseball field June 6. After noticing the burns the next morning, security launched an investigation to find the arsonist, security assistant Paul Marshall said.

“Sometime last night, somebody torched the boat, but school security cameras don’t reach that far,” Marshall said. “The county investigators will most likely talk to students until somebody says something.”

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) investigated the scene, but weren’t available for comments about the crime.

Regardless of their findings, the burning’s consequences will impact the rowing team. Thompson Boat Center, a summer team that is popular among Whitman rowers, owns the 15 year-old boat, crew coach Kirk Shipley said.

“It’s worth about $3,000, but is also insured,” Shipley said. “What’s unfortunate is that because it’s old, insurance money isn’t enough to buy a replacement.”

Despite the destructive ramifications of the crime, there isn’t much the crew team can do besides identifying the culprit, Shipley said.

Because suspects are still unknown, it’s unclear to the team why someone would burn the boat, junior John Young said.

“We’re just surprised and confused,” Young said. “It’s a pretty random act of destruction.”