This boathouse and remnants of a large, multilevel wharf and slipway depicted here were a focal point to home life for my wife Lisa while she was growing up in Coley’s Point, a historic community that is part of Bay Roberts in Newfoundland. Originally there was only a small platform or stage to fillet the day’s catch of cod; the first photo below shows a very young Lisa standing on a rock, looking down on her grandfather and two uncles filleting the fish. Lisa’s uncle Levi Samways later took on the task of creating a large wharf with help from her grandfather Isaac, her uncles Leonard and Isaac Junior, and other relatives. Over time, Levi rebuilt and added to the structure, creating a more massive wharf to which a dory was tied. Eventually the boathouse was added to shelter the fishing boat Little Emma that I depicted in an earlier painting. The size of the wharf isn’t fully evident in the painting because I chose to focus on the boathouse surrounded by trees and rocks, but the other photos below give a better sense of how large it was.

Lisa has many wonderful memories of waiting for her Pop and uncles to return with the day’s catch that might include cod, mackerel, flounder, squid, or even seabirds that are known locally as turrs (common or thick-billed murres) and bullbirds (dovekies). She also liked to sit out on one of the rocks to sun herself, study, or contemplate life. Her daughter Emma also developed a love for sitting on the wharf and looking out over the bay, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean.

Unfortunately, the wharf and its slipway were extensively damaged by hurricane Fiona in September 2022, and that stage in its demise is what is depicted here. Levi had passed away some years earlier and no one had his capability or time to repair this damage. A series of storms over the following year washed the remnants of the wharf away, such that the boathouse is now all that remains. Its placement on top of the rocks kept it stable with Little Emma safe inside. Rebuilding the wharf from scratch is now far too costly to consider.

Lisa asked me to paint this and she also came up with the title that expresses her feelings, “Wreckage of Memories.” Seeing the painting brought tears to her eyes.

It’s unusual for hurricanes to reach as far north as Newfoundland, but Fiona’s path of destruction extended that far. According to a Wikipedia entry, Fiona caused at least 29 deaths and major destruction through the Caribbean and Eastern Canada, and that justified that its name be retired. The monetary cost for Atlantic Canada alone was estimated to exceed $845 Million CAD.