White squall

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A white squall is sudden and violent windstorm phenomenon at sea which is not accompanied by the black clouds generally characteristic of a squall. The name refers to the white-capped waves and broken water, its meager warning to any unlucky seaman caught in its path. White squalls are rare at sea, but common on the Great Lakes of North America.

A white squall is the culprit of many sea stories and blamed for quite a few tragedies. It is described as a sudden increase in wind velocity in tropical and sub-tropical waters, and lacks the usual dark, ominous squall clouds. The white squall may be myth, or it may be a microburst. If they form during daylight you might see the approach as a line of broken water or whitecaps rushing at your vessel, but usually they appear out of nowhere.^[1]

In his article in USA Today's "Answers: Oceans, waves, tides", Jack Williams says: "The Pride of Baltimore, a fine 137-foot schooner, was reportedly struck by a white squall. The 121-ton vessel sank about 240 miles north of Puerto Rico, casting the surviving crew members adrift for five days. The Toro, a Norwegian freighter picked them up at 2:30 a.m. May 19th, 1986.

Here is an eyewitness account of the sinking: "A tremendous whistling sound suddenly roared through the rigging and a wall of wind hit us in the back. The Pride heeled over in a matter of seconds. The 70-knot wind pushed a 20 foot high wall of water into the starboard side. She sank in minutes."

A white squall allegedly sunk the schooner Albatross on 2 May 1961. The film White Squall narrates its terminal voyage.

Also, a white squall is belived to have sunk the schooner Hunter Savidge in Lake Huron in 1899.

Stan Rogers named the song "White Squall" for the white squalls of the Great Lakes.

Southern Ontario is famous for one frequently recurring white squall nicknamed the "Filteau", it's long lanky lightning strikes have terrified tourists for decades.