Hare Bay woman 'felt weak' looking at the storm devastation

Beyond the four walls and the stunning view. 

Beyond the historical designation, or the decades of stories the clapboard could tell.

Beyond the tens of thousands of dollars, or the months of toil and labour, there's a piece of something more meaningful in the Collins' family's oceanfront property in Hare Bay.

"There's no words to describe really how it affects us," said Janice Collins. "It's a part of what we do as a family. Our friends come here or our family. We all gather here. This is where we spent all of our, you know, three quarters of our time in the summer. We're here more than we're home."

In waves, wind and ocean spray, a weekend storm changed all that. The stage stood Mother's Nature's test, but the surrounding grounds were barely recognizable.

The couple lost their wharf, railing, decking, rock barriers and more. The personal items, a memorial bench made in memory of an aunt, and steel ornamental eagles gifted by an uncle, were swept out to sea. 

"We've had them for years and just waiting for the right place to put them. So, of course, when we built the patio, which is no longer on our stage … we thought, what a perfect place to put two eagles. 

"If anybody were to find them washed up on shore, please return them ... The bench, thank God it's been recovered. But I would like to get the eagles back."

Greg Collins estimates he's spent 7-8 months working on the stage, patio and wharf since the couple purchased the property in 2018. 

"There was no stone or anything going down here," he said. "It was just ... an old wooden wharf, and I had to take it apart. And then I got a friend of mine who owns the sand and gravel company, and we got to work and had a lot of boulders and fill put in here and then we started the wharf after that."

Sea surge from last weekend's storm battered much of the northeast coast, as communities grappled with flooding and damage from the high winds. The town of Gambo — just a few kilometres away from Hare Bay — enacted a state of emergency for four days. 

It was tough for the Colins' to see the property when the storm picked up.

"I felt so weak just looking at the devastation," Janice said. "We couldn't even get close to the stage because the surge was so high. And there was actually waves coming, like mist coming over the roof. And, at that point, I just started praying that the stage would remain intact because that is, you know, that's our most valuable thing."

Despite the loss, the Collins' have no plan to sell the property, or look for a similar stage elsewhere.

"We're Newfoundlanders and we love the water and we love our boat," Janice said. "You know, if you're a Newfoundlander, what's more important than having a wharf and a boat? And with an added bonus, we have this heritage site. So, yeah, we have no other choice — we have to rebuild."

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