Remembering a November Gale - 100 Years Later
“No lake master can recall in all his experience a storm of such unprecedented violence with such rapid changes in the direction of the wind and waves and its gusts of such fearful speed! Storms ordinarily of that velocity do not last over four or five hours, but this storm raged for sixteen hours continuously at an average velocity of sixty miles per hour, with frequent spurts of seventy and over.” ( From the Lake Carriers Association Report of 1914) I’ve always been interested in Great Lakes shipwrecks and am a sucker for nautical lore, so it’s no surprise that I’m inspired to write about such things at least a couple of times per year here at SailFarLiveFree.com. [See the end of this post to find my previous shipwreck ramblings]. This week happens to mark the 100 th anniversary of an event that added many chapters to the maritime history of the Great Lakes, which is an even more fitting reason for this particular post. Imagine 35-foot waves, whiteout blizzard co