VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - As people on dry land clean up from today's windstorm, it was a scary morning for many boat owners around Vancouver waterways. Three boats washed up along Kits Beach, along with a sailboat which usually parks in the waters of False Creek.
Three boats ended up stranded on Kits Beach while a fourth boat crashed on the rocks around the corner near the Maritime Museum. One of the
boats on Kits Beach was badly smashed up but the other two should be
okay.
Randy Van Eyk believes his 40 foot sail boat 'Tuesday Sunrise' would have been safe if he hadn't been kicked out of the waters of False Creek a few days ago. He says he was forced to cut his last anchor line when a fish boat crashed into it during the height of the storm on English Bay.
He says he was lucky to miss some nearby rocks. "I landed on a nice soft sandy beach so next high tide I should be able to start the motor and pull off, right. So a little bit of damage to my deck but I'm not holed. You know, I'll still float."
We've had numerous reports of wires down, including in West Vancouver along Marine Drive, between Sharon Drive and Creery Avenue. Earlier today there were also problems with some fallen trolley wires in Vancouver. Callers have also reported trees down over roads, and debris washing up on beaches.
Thousands of BC Hydro customers remain without power in South Coastal B.C., thanks to the ongoing windstorm, but Hydro crews seem to be catching up. At the peak, 24,000 customers were without power, but as of 2:00 p.m. now that number is down to approximately 6,700. BC Hydro says the worst-hit areas are in the area through Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge.
You can check the latest BC Hydro outage list at their website.
News1130 Meteorologist Russ Lacate says winds will be diminishing over the course of the day, but there's still a chance of hail in some areas. Earlier today wind gusts of over 90 kilometres per hour were reported.