Experiences a sudden gale of wind.
In the course of this night, the wind blew fresh from the S.W., and an immense number of large vessels, chiefly in the Coal-trade, passed our small ship, which obliged the crew to keep a sharp look-out, to avoid the imminent danger of being run down, especially after the weather became thick. As our course lay close to Flamborough-head, we had several hairbreadth escapes; for the vessel had no sooner put about to avoid the land, than she was in danger of being run foul of by the passing vessels. In this situation things remained from about 1 o’clock on the morning of the 19th till 5, when, all of a sudden, the wind shifted, in the most surprising manner, from W.SW. to N.W., when the weather immediately clearing, was succeeded by a heavy gale, which forced our ship into Burlington-Bay, where she was safely anchored.
Storm described.
Great want of a Public Harbour on this coast.
As this was one of the most extraordinary tornadoes that the writer ever witnessed, he will endeavour to give some account of it. On the morning of the 18th, the day preceding the storm, when off Scarborough, he had requested to be called early, that he might see the coast, and enjoy the sight of the rising sun. The weather was then extremely fine, but the sun had a most piercingly brilliant appearance as it came into view upon the horizon; and he was assured by Captain Pool, that the general aspect of the heavens indicated a change of weather for the worse. In the course of the 18th the sky became cloudy, and the wind shifted from point to point, but prevailed chiefly from the S.W. At midnight, the weather was foggy, and the wind blew so fresh that the second reef was taken into the Smeaton’s mainsail, and her topmast was struck. During the whole of the night, a fleet of vessels passed to the northward with a fair wind: these were understood to be colliers, in ballast, on their return voyage from London to Sunderland and Newcastle. At 5 A. M., however, while the Smeaton was lying-to, and waiting for day light, the wind shifted so suddenly to N.W., that it appeared to those below as if she had been upset, or had run upon a rock. In an instant all was bustle and confusion, till the vessel was got before the wind. The writer being in bed, immediately sprung up, and, on inquiring into the matter, the answer was, “It blows mere fire.” The man at the helm, at the same time, pointed out a vessel in a disabled state, having been dismasted with the sudden change of the wind. Our small bark was fortunately in the opening of Burlington Bay, where she got to an anchor about 6 o’clock A. M. In the course of the day, not fewer than 160 vessels took shelter in the same place, many of them in a mutilated and dismantled state, having, to use a sea phrase, had their sails “split in ribbons;” and two were towed into the Bay, one of which, a large brig, already alluded to, was totally dismasted. Such a scene, arising from what may be termed a “Summer’s Gale,” had rarely been seen on this coast. Three vessels were also driven ashore and wrecked in Robin Hood Bay, a few miles north of Flamborough-head, and several others, as the writer afterwards learned, had been stranded on various parts of the coast, between Yarmouth Roads and the Shetland Islands. The want of some place of refuge for the extensive shipping of this coast in disastrous circumstances like the present, is very apparent. Had there been a harbour at Bridlington of sufficient capacity for large ships, perhaps not fewer than 100 sail would have refitted there, which were obliged to go to sea in a very crippled condition. Probably a Northern Ramsgate could not be better set down than here or somewhere upon the Norfolk coast.
Progress of the gale along the coast.
The writer is the more particular in noticing the anomalous state of the weather on this occasion, because the progress of this gale seems to have been comparatively slow. It appeared upon inquiry, from the date of various shipwrecks, to have visited Shetland on the evening of the 17th, Peterhead on the 18th, and Yarmouth at noon of that day. Now, as the distance between Sumburgh-head in Shetland and Yarmouth is about 430 miles, and if we allow 42 hours, as nearly as could be ascertained, for the progress of the wind between these points, it thus appears that the N.W. gale had not made its way against the S.W. wind, at a greater rate than about 10 miles per hour, though, from a train of experiments made in the neighbourhood of Leith, by Mr Andrew Waddell, F. R. S. E., and obligingly communicated to the writer, he has often observed the velocity of the wind to be about 60 miles per hour. But here we cannot enough regret the want of an efficient Anemometer, or instrument for measuring the force of the wind. Indeed, we hardly know any desideratum of more universal interest, for, notwithstanding the labours of Lind and others on this subject, from the want of a proper scale, we are still groping in the dark with the use of such indefinite terms, as “Light airs, inclining to calm,”—“Fresh breezes,”—“Fresh gales,”—“Hard gales,”—and “Very hard gales;” for it rarely happens that the sailor will admit the term “Storm” into his nomenclature.
Monday, 25th.
Mr B. Mills suggests distinguishing-lights with colours.
Having landed at Bridlington on the 20th, the writer had the pleasure of meeting with Mr Benjamin Mills, Collector of the Customs there, and agent for Flamborough-head Light-house. This gentleman accompanied the writer to the Light-house, about six miles distant. He was also at pains to explain the mode in which he had originally proposed the erection of a Distinguishing-light, from oil, with reflectors, for this station; as a Coal-light, formerly here, had long since been actually extinguished, on account of its being often mistaken for other lights on the coast. Mr Mills, observing the consequent disasters to shipping on these shores, proposed to construct a Revolving-light, distinguishable by means of colours, the machinery to be kept in motion by the agency of a neighbouring rill of water. Though the apparatus described to the writer seemed, upon the whole, not very applicable in practice, yet it is believed that Mr Mills was the first who suggested the idea of a distinguishing light, by means of coloured shades of glass. Some useful remarks having been made on the effects of Flamborough-head light, the writer sailed for the Firth of Forth, and reached Edinburgh on Monday the 25th.