Pat Shingleton: "The HMS Andromache"
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In July, 1795, The HMS Andromache encountered a hurricane off Barbados. Here was the ship’s log entry: “…9 o’clock, gale still increasing… At 11, a perfect hurricane of wind and rain…1/2 past 11, main topmast blown over side… ship labouring…” Weatherwise magazine noted that ancient observations differed among countries. Today, maritime agreements have uniform explanations. For example, winds designated as a 3 on the Beaufort Scale represent an “easy gale” in English, a “loose wind’ in French and a “light slab sail’ in Dutch. A “violent gale” in English was identified as “stormy” in Spanish. An English “typhoon” was classified it as a “huracan” or hurricane in Spanish and a “violent ouragon” or violent hurricane for the French.