Vandals Take Aim at HarborFest Whale

Sometime after Sag Harbor’s HarborFest activities wrapped up Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, vandals scrawled “Trump” in large black letters on the side of the floating whale used as the target for the whaleboat races that are the main draw of the annual event.

And although the village has a number of security cameras located on Long Wharf, they won’t be much use in apprehending those responsible, according to Sag Harbor Village Police Chief Austin J. McGuire.

McGuire said the cameras were unable to pick up activity around the whale after nightfall. He said he made his way through the video footage and, by 7:54 p.m., it was totally dark. “I can see reflections of the lights on the bridge off the water,” he said.

McGuire added it was difficult to pinpoint the exact time the vandalism occurred because of light rainfall Sunday night that obscured the lens, making it impossible to decipher if the damage had already been done early Monday morning.

“A lot of time and effort goes into making that whale float every year at HarborFest, so to see someone deface it like that was upsetting to all the volunteers who put in time and money to bring what is essentially the symbol of HarborFest back every year,” said Gavin Menu, who is the chairman of the HarborFest Whaleboat Committee and is also co-publisher of The Express News Group.

“That said, we will not let one incident dampen our spirits from the weekend. To see so many people from Sag Harbor come out to celebrate, old-school residents alongside newcomers, having fun together regardless of political stripe or socioeconomic background, was great to see and experience.

“The festival is one of the things that make Sag Harbor so special, and for every one or two people who would do something like that there are thousands who love Sag Harbor, love HarborFest and look forward to seeing that whale in a fresh coat of white paint floating off Windmill Beach every year,” he added.

Rick Pickering, the owner of Ship Ashore Marina, who donates space to store the whale and whaleboats every year, powerwashed the paint off the whale Monday morning.