For many Maritimers the May long weekend means the unofficial start of cottage season, as they open their cottages for the summer.

But in New Brunswick, many cottage owners have had their properties badly damaged or even destroyed by the record breaking New Brunswick flooding.

A dozen or so cottages and homes dot the lakeside in Fanjoys Point, N.B. All of them have sustained major damage.

"The wind came up and it tore the front off my cottage, busted the door out of the door casing, and then the waves came in, and they were really high," says cottage owner Dixie Wilson. "It tore my siding off the front of the door, and the door was open, so the waves just kept coming in all night."

Wilson's says her neighbours cottage was moved off its foundation completely.

"It used to be out there a lot further. Now where I'm standing in my driveway, it's back on my driveway, blocking access into my place. Just the strength of the water, just picked it up and moved it back," Wilson explains.

One property over, the damage is more significant. Wilson says she doesn't think that cottage's owner, a woman in her 70's, will rebuild.

"She loved it here, she spent all her time here in the summer, she was always on the front porch in a rocking chair, she watched my kids grow up next door. I'm really going to miss them," says Wilson.

Down the road, cottage owner Todd Hannah is hearing the same thing.

"I've heard people saying they'll possibly sell. They're just going to clean up and possibly sell their land, that way people can just move travel trailers in and out during the spring and summer months," says Hannan.

Hannan says he typically would spend the May long weekend at the cottage relaxing and welcoming spring, but that's not the case this year.

"A lot of mess and debris to clean up. I don't think we will be celebrating too much, just focusing on the cleanup," says Hannan.

Dixie Wilson says she plans on being back in her home within the next 6-8 weeks, but says judging by the extent of some of the damage, she doesn't think some of her neighbours will ever rebuild.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Jonathan MacInnis.