The wreckage of five lobster fishing boats riddles the rocky shore of Petit-Cap, N.B.
Most of the boats are at least partially intact, but Adrice LeBlanc’s is nothing but rubble.
His boat, “Samuel no. 5”, was one of the five lobster boats that broke free when hurricane Dorian swept away part of the city’s wharf, LeBlanc’s daughter-in-law Renelle LeBlanc said.
“Every fisherman was helping each other but in the end, nothing would be helped; everybody was just watching the boats slapping together and breaking,” said Renelle LeBlanc.
READ MORE: Hurricane Dorian shuts down New Brunswick Provincial Exhibition
“The stern is on one side, the front is on the other side and it is all split up in a million pieces,” she added. “He has lost everything. There is nothing he can save.”
But as fate would have it, one precious piece of his boat did survive.
The section of the boat that bears the names of his grandchildren Jase and Anabelle, Renelle’s children.
Renelle said Adrice broke down in tears when he found the piece because he and his five-year-old grandson Jase share a passion for fishing.
Jase even has a replica boat exactly like his grandfather’s vessel and he is devastated by the loss.
“Yesterday he played and he played and all his boats were sinking, that is how he was playing, so we know it is affecting him,” said Renelle.
WATCH (Sept. 9, 2019): Dorian recap with Global News chief meteorologist Anthony Farnell
Jase’s grandfather and mentor will pick up the pieces of his boat and his livelihood. Adrice said he hopes to rent a boat to get him through the current season, which ends in mid-October.
Eventually, he hopes to replace his boat and show his grandson that everything will be OK, Renelle said.
“I think he is what is keeping us strong. I would rather lose the boat than lose him,” she said.
The Maritime Fishermen’s Union says the storm surge has damaged four wharves and six lobster fishing boats. The union is now scrambling to try to find replacement boats so that fishermen can salvage the season.
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