The Wreckhouse

Just another one of our Video's.

Wreckhouse Wind Warning

Another Wreckhouse Wind Warning issued for our area. No matter how far in advance it's issued,some will still ignore it. Here's the results from earlier in the week when a few ignored one.

Table Mountain Sunset

Watching a Sunset from the Table Mountain,Cape Ray,NL. Click on pic to start Video.

May Evening at the Wreckhouse. Click photo to open Video.

Another Wind Storm hits the area and the Wreckhouse winds go to 160 KPH. Couple of little Video's to add,



and one from today.

The driver of a transport truck, which overturned on its side from high wind gusts while trying to cross the Wreckhouse area last week, says a Western Star story quoting an RCMP officer grossly misrepresented the situation.

My opinion (He has to say that now to cover his Ass.) Wind Warnings are released far in advance and it's possible with today's Devices to get up to the minute info on what the weather is like at the Wreckhouse.It's also possible to look back to the wind Gusts 24 hours prior on the Environment Canada Site. Enough info is available now to make an informed decision before you attempt to run that Gauntlet.

Rest of the Western Star Article here, >>>>>>>>>>>

More Wreckhouse Woes

It just keeps on happening ! 3 in less then a Week.

 NTV News Video. I have made more trips to that area then I can remember.
http://ntv.ca/police-plead-with-drivers-to-heed-wind-warnings-in-wreckhouse/

The above was from Friday's mishap in the Wreckhouse when gusts up to nearly 150 KPH blew this one over. Today the winds are already gusting to 131 KPH and I'm wondering if someone else has attempted to run it. Somethings never change ! Link to the above story Here >>>>>

Just another small Video of a hike we had.

Today the new Digital Signage for the Wreckhouse will be unveiled. Finally a warning to Truckers and unsuspecting Tourist who have ran this gauntlet and came out the looser. Hopefully this may save a few lives and keep our Police and Ambulance drivers from having to go out to that area and help when an accident occurs there. I doubt if this will stop some from attempting to run it when the winds are high but at least now there will be a warning to those who might not know what to expect.

Government Working on Solution to Windy Problem

VOCM News. Aug 4-2010
Government appears to be working on a better way to inform drivers about high winds on the Trans Canada in the Wreckhouse area. A woman from central Newfoundland complained to government after being in a nasty accident. Fran told VOCM BackTalk with Bill Rowe, she and her husband had stopped because of the wind. When it died down slightly, they resumed their journey, but soon after, their four-by-four truck and 21-foot camper tipped over on the road. She says they went straight across the road, and were trapped in the vehicle. She says it took three men to hold up the door so that they could get out. She says her complaint to the government was that they have a big green sign warning drivers, but unless you stop to read it all or drive by slowly enough, you're not going to get all the information.


Fran says Transportation Minister Tom Hedderson sent her an email stating that government had received a report from a consultant who was working on developing alternative solutions to inform drivers of the Wreckhouse area's windy conditions. A solution is expected to be in place by the fall.


I doubt if Minister Hedderson knows where the Wreckhouse is. I listened to him on a Radio interview last year and his solution to Truckers at that time was to turn around on the Wreckhouse parking lot and turn back. That of all places is where no one should be when the winds are high there. As for the solution to be in place by fall? I doubt it! The only solution is a Digital Sign warning on both ends.

Editorial by Natalie Musseau.Gulf News,September 8-2009.

Time for better warnings
NATALIE MUSSEAU
The Gulf News

After getting off the gulf ferry, visitors to this province are greeted by a sign spanning the Trans-Canada Highway saying 'Welcome to Newfoundland and Labrador.'

Some people pull into Port aux Basques to have a look around, refuel or just take a break before starting their journey. The majority head up the highway, onto whatever their final destination might be.

Those who are familiar with our province and its unique weather patterns may think to ask what the winds are like. Some visitors may have heard of the Wreckhouse winds, which even warrant their own dictionary entry.

Unfortunately, many visitors know nothing of the potential danger that lies just a few minutes up the road.

And there's absolutely nothing to warn them.

The results of that ignorance mixed with the powerful Wreckhouse winds were easily seen on the last weekend in August when two separate vehicles towing travel trailers were blown over. Likely not the start, nor finish, those families had in mind while planning their Newfoundland vacation.

They weren't the first and won't be the last until something is done to warn travellers about the dangers of Wreckhouse.

The best way to prevent future accidents is to have electronic signs that display wind speeds and warnings, similar to those that give information to those crossing the bridge to Prince Edward Island.

It's not a new idea; in fact, it's one that has been talked about and worked on at various times over at least the past decade. The stumbling block always seems to be who is going to pay for it.

One would image that insurance companies would benefit from fewer accidents and the resulting thousands of dollars in damages that occur every year.

More importantly, if blowing over in Wreckhouse is part of your memory of Newfoundland, it's unlikely any amount of creative advertising would lure you back to the province. And unless their friends are adrenaline junkies, it's not likely to be too good for word of mouth either, which means the provincial tourism department has a stake in getting that information to travellers.

The Department of Transportation would also seem to bear some responsibility to warn motorists.

Maybe that's the problem - everyone is waiting for someone else to do something. Meanwhile, unsuspecting tourists have their vacations ruined, property damaged and lives put in danger all because they didn't know what was around the corner.

It's high time we told them.

editor@gulfnews.ca

Tropical storm Danny gave us winds in excess of 150 KPH in the area today. Two accidents in the Wreckhouse and families who planned a holiday to our Island made it just 20 kilometers pass the Ferry Terminal in Port Aux Basques. No warnings and what info given was the same false information that we usually hear here. Wind warning for Bay St. Georges. Same old shit! Bay St. Georges is well over 100 kilometers from the Wreckhouse. Once again i ask will our Government to at least put a Digital sign on each end of this dangerous area known as the Wreckhouse giving wind speed in real time?

A scene from a Saturday afternoon.
















free,finally!




That's a great Winch there Corey.

"This is like deja vu all over again."
-- Yogi Berra

Couple of trucks blew over in the Wreckhouse today. No matter the warnings issued, some will try to run the gauntlet. Here are a few shots i captured this evening after the winds went down.

In the first shot you can see one overturned in the distance.

Groundhog Day

We hardly take notice of Groundhog Day in our area.We watch the news and see some TV station doing a little segment or so about the day and the meaning. With no Groundhogs in NL some of us observe it differently. I don't know how accurate my predictions will be but i suspect we'll have a bit more winter.I can only surmise this by saying that since we saw no shadows of our MHA's in the legislature yesterday that'll have to do for us. They showed a repeat of the 1993 Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray on several stations yesterday. In that movie the character finds himself repeating the same day over and over again.The movie reminds me of the top photo (The Wreckhouse) i posted. This Groundhog Day accident looks so similar to others i have seen on this stretch over the years it just reminds me of the movie. The scene will repeat itself many more times in 2008. This is the third time since January 2nd that i have went to the area to shoot a few photos of a tractor trailer accident. It happens on the same stretch and each time a southeast wind blows here i actually think that it's mandatory for one to blow over. The accidents happen in an area where a small weather station to gauge the winds is sat up. Decades ago the McDougall family lived here and became famous for predicting the winds and alerting the railway not to send the trains through the area. With todays technology it would be so simple to have a digital sign on both ends warning Tractor Trailer drivers of the wind in real time. Most drivers are lucky and only receive a few minor injuries but someday surely someone unaware of what can happen will die on that stretch of road in the top photo.

Few pics i shot of the Groundhog Day accident.

Seems almost mandatory.............

Each time the Southeast winds blow in our area a Tractor Trailer being blown over in the Wreckhouse seems almost mandatory! Last night the wind speeds peaked at 121 kph and we had another Tractor Trailer blown over. A police cruiser that went out to offer assistance had its roof lights blown off or damaged. This scene seem to repeat itself and after a while all the photos seem the same. Years ago the local Zone Board had a proposal to install Digital signs showing the wind speeds in real time on both ends of the Wreckhouse but those plans seem to have blown away also. Will,anyway,here are a few pics of last nights accident.

Just another day in The Wreckhouse !

After the S.E. winds calmed down yesterday i decided to drive to The Wreckhouse to see if any Tractor Trailers tried to run the gauntlet. As usual the scene was what i expected when i arrived. A series of accidents involving the large Tractor Trailers and a few smaller vehicles. The top photos shows a container truck carrying Milk that swerved to avoid several other tractor trailers that had already collided in the high winds and whiteout conditions. This scene is not uncommon here and will repeat itself many more times before the end of 2008.
few more from yesterday......................Click to open: