A paddleboarding school in West Cork has decided to cut their losses and pack it in for the summer after one of their expensive boards was broken over night.
Vandals who broke one of SUP (Stand Up Paddling) School's boards in Crookhaven have caused them to end their business three weeks early as bosses say they'd be losing money if they lost another.
Speaking to CorkBeo Muirti O Cearnaigh insisted that the area is always quiet and a beautiful place to stay - but they've lost half the summer to Covid and their aim for the rest of it was to break even financially.
Although there's been no trouble ever before they don't want to risk any more damage to their gear with a few weeks to go.
He said: "There was some damage done to gear, it's gotten a little bit lawless since Covid. Although something like this is far from regular.
"This summer we were just trying to clear costs, the aim was to cover expenses and for this to happen is disappointing.
"The boards costs about €1,000 and if we lost another one we'd be be down money for the season.
"There's been a few down, we've been cleaning rubbish each morning. And we're not used to having any trouble, we've never had damage or vandalism.
"It was just a case of looking at the risk of losing more and saying we'll stop early."
The business posted the disappointing news on Facebook and reassured everyone that they'll be back in Crookhaven next year.
Customers sent them their best wishes and thanked them for opening up making the most out of the little bit of season they had.
One said: "Sorry to hear guys. My daughter had one of her best memories this summer on your paddle board morning trips."
Another said: "So sorry to hear this. Mindless behaviour which is so sad at times when we all should be supporting & be thankful that small businesses were able to get up and running. "We hope you'll be back next year and better care will be taken to ensure you have a proper and respectful stay."
