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HomeMy WebLinkAbout592"Article taken fron The Oshawa Times Thursday July 28, 1966. WRECKING WIND SMASHES FRENCHMAN'S BAY AREA Damage has been put at well over $50,000 in a lightning and wind storm that smashed through Frenchman's Bay early this morning. The storm struck with incredible force just after 8.30. It lasted for no more than 20 minutes. Dozens of boats, both large and small, were either sunk or smashed against the shoreline, about 12 miles west of Oshawa. A 60-foot yacht on dry land for servicing was turned over and damaged extensively. Pickering Township Police had to rescue two fishermen caught in the middle of the bay when the storm struck. COTTAGES DAMAGED Three cottages were virtually destroyed by falling trees and the gale force winds. Four float-planes were completely wrecked in the storm. One was hurled over 175 feet over trees and cars before coming to rest with its wings torn to shreds. Miraculously, reported Pickering Township Police, no one was injured. Late this morning work crews were slowly picking their way through the wreckage. Dozens of trees had been blown down and hydro wires torn off. FIRE CALLS Pickering Township Fire Department answered two calls during the storm. One was to cope with sparking hydro wires torn down by a tree limb. ""Those wires were jumping pretty good,"" when we arrived a spokesman said. The second call was to an overheated water pump that couldn't manage the storm. No damage was done. The storm cut an ugly swathe through the Frenchman's Bay area. PLANE SMASHED ""It go so black so suddenly that we didn't know what was happening,"" said 16 - year - old Oshawa Times carrier boy Peter Carlyon. ""You should see it down here. The damage is incredible. Our own boat was blown right over and the aluminum mast smashed. ""There is an airplane that looks just like match wood. It was smashed to pieces. There are overturned boats all over the harbor. ""One plane has been sunk in the bay. I don't think that $50,000 is going to cover the damages here. The damage is too great."" Peter Carlyon, went on to say that he had just got up when the storm struck. ""It got so black that I could hardly see my hand in front of me. My father came rushing in and said we were all to get out and try and anchor the boats more firmly. It didn't do any good. The storm struck too quickly. ""The marinas here have all been hit badly."" Mrs. Edward Kirby, a resident of Frenchman's Bay since 1933, said she was more frightened than she had been during the London blitz when bombs were dropped. ""The noise and wind was terrible,"" she said. One of the planes smashed by the storm pulled away from two 2,000 lb. mooring lines. It literally flew over the beach before it smashed into trees. Bob Parker, who has lived in the area for 44 years, described the storm as the worst he had ever seen. ""The damage is incredible,"" he said. GALE FORCE WINDS lifted this Piper Cub, 175 feet out of the water, over trees and cars, to end up in a heap of twisted metal when a 20-minute storm sliced through the eastern section of Frenchman's Bay at 8:30 a.m. Twelve-year-old Garry Boniface of Scarborough and Susan Annis, 15 of Pickering examine the wrecked aircraft. In picture at right is illustrated the severe force the winds as it overturned this flat-bottomed skiff while it lay anchored near shore. One area resident said the storm was the worse he had seen. He has lived in Frenchman's Bay since 1922. The storm also toppled trees onto houses and cars blocking streets overturned several small pleasure crafts, smashed cottage roof-tops and knocked down hydro wires and telephone lines. Pickering Township police placed the damage at well over $50,000. —Oshawa Times Photos by Bob McDougall "