Historical Incidents
- The Pride of Baltimore, a modern 137-foot (42 m) schooner, was reportedly struck by a white squall on May 14, 1986. The 121-ton vessel sank about 240 miles (390 km) 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 19, 1986. An eyewitness of the account described it as follows:
"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 (130 km/h) wind pushed a 20-foot (6.1 m) high wall of water into the starboard side. She sank in minutes."
- A white squall was allegedly behind the sinking of the schooner Albatross on May 2, 1961.
- A white squall is also believed to have sunk the schooner Hunter Savidge on Lake Huron in 1899.
Read more about this topic: White Squall
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