Damage of at least $1 million at the Seaview Avenue club was estimated, said Fire Marshal Bruce Collins as he surveyed the vessels' charred remains Friday afternoon.

The fire destroyed about 12 percent of the boats in winter storage at the yacht club, according to Paul Lengyel, the club commodore.

The clubhouse overlooking Johnson Creek was not damaged by the blaze.

Investigation into the cause of the fire, described as suspicious, is continuing, officials said.

Detectives at the scene had no comment, but Lengyel said there were signs of a break-in.

"It looks like vandals cut through the back fence," Lengyel said in the club's barroom, where a crowd of boat owners talked with investigators.

Police Lt. James Viadero, the department spokesman, added several boats were broken into, some before they burned.

The club has been vandalized previously, Lengyel said, but there has never been a fire.

Lengyel said combined insurance provided by the club and boat owners' policies would most likely cover most of the losses.

Mike Masanotti, of Trumbull, was among the club members who lost vessels. His powerboat was destroyed. "It was burned to the ground," Masanotti said.

At least seven other boats were destroyed, according to fire officials.

The yacht club, which has 275 members, is nearly a century old. Many members' families have belonged to the club for generations.

"In July it will be our 100th anniversary," Lengyel said.

Karin Hope, of Milford, stopped by Friday afternoon and was glad to learn her 26-foot powerboat was not damaged.

"I was very lucky," she said.

It took firefighters about 90 minutes to extinguish the flames, according to Collins. Four engines and two ladder companies were dispatched to battle the blaze.

East Side Battalion Chief Ismael Pomales directed about 30 firefighters at the scene.

"Wind played a factor," said provisional Assistant Fire Chief Christopher Martin. "It was blowing toward the water, which helped the men get the blaze under control so quickly."

Martin said there was a minor problem with diesel fuel and oil runoff into Johnson's Creek. A crew from the state Department of Environmental Protection handled the cleanup.

Firefighters remained on the scene in the afternoon, and the yard was ringed with yellow fire scene tape.

A neighbor, Seaview Avenue resident John Percell, took digital photographs of the blaze, and said he was glad the wind was not blowing in the direction of his home.

"I would have been out of a house," he said.

Percell said the flames leapt higher than his garage.

"It's hard to say how high they were because some of those boats are tall," he said, "maybe 25 feet."

Police ask that anyone with information about the fire call the Detective Bureau at 576-7917 or 576-7624.