Talk:1904 Great August Gale

Tropical Cyclone?
This was not a tropical cyclone. None formed in August of 1904 according to UNISYS. There is probably a reason it's called the Great August Gale and not the Great August Hurricane. -- Hurricane Eric - my dropsonde - archive 13:59, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

Random info
There may have been a tropical storm in Nova Scotia in 1904, but the event that "I" know as the August Gale was in 1927. I had several cousins and uncles lost in that pariticular storm which occured on August 25, 1927. Actaully, August Gales were always watched or recorded since the 1870's. Here is the excerpt from the original history write from the Nova Scotia Site. It is more or less correct as people rememeber it differently, thus it is as close to an official version as I can come to.

In fact, there is an entire display at the Lunenburg Museum regarding the August Gale. They had my Aunt listed with her wrong name and a few other things. The story is kinda comical as I informed her a few years ago. Her daughter drove her down and she saw the display for the first time in her life! Quite a time of remembering when you see the photo of your first dead husband on display. She was quite moved and tearful. They asked for the curator who came on the scene in a few moments. My Aunt commented, in her home spun way, " This display is some nice. It is the first time I ever seen it." she said. " Oh, why thanks, did you have any questions?", the curator asked. " Politely my Aunt said, ! Yes, why do you have this man's photo here and the information under it wrong?" The curator assured her it was very accurate and she her self had quite a hand in putting it together. Auntie then said," Well, that there picture of Brad with the information is wrong. I am his wife, so I outta know." The curator was silent and blank, said," You are his wife??!!" " Yes," said my Aunt. My Aunt went on to volunteer the personal experience she had in great detail. The curator realised that she was talking to living history.

Auntie was escorted to the office and they recorded her experience and whilst they were talking, they corrected the display. She also gave information regarding some other people as much as she could remember. They were well please to have someone alive who remembered because as far as they knew, no one was alive who had experienced the August Gale of 1927. I thought you would like to know.

Here is the quotation from the Nova Scotia Site:

n August of both 1926 and 1927, severe storms ravaged the Atlantic coastline of Canada, Newfoundland and the United States. The storm, or "Gale", was particularly intense near Sable Island. During the two Gales, the well-known "Graveyard of the Atlantic" claimed the lives of the crews of six Lunenburg schooners, and the American schooner Columbia.

The "August Gales" exhibit consists primarily of photographs and biographies of the lost fishermen, newspaper accounts from the time of the tragedies and salvaged artifacts from underwater wrecks.

The introductory section focuses on Sable Island and its long association with disaster. Photographic copies of early charts show that the area was a source of concern for navigators from the time of the first shipwreck, in 1583. By 1630, Sable Island was described as a "place well-known for shipwrecks".

"August Gales" were first recorded at Sable Island in 1873. Many vessels were lost. However, it was not until 1926 that the Lunenburg fishing fleet felt the full force of this "dark isle of mourning".

On August 8, 1926, the Lunenburg schooners Sylvia Mosher and Sadie A. Knickle were lost. Crew members came from small fishing communities along the Nova Scotia coast. For several weeks after the storm there was confusion regarding the extent of the losses. Since very little wreckage washed ashore and there was no ship-to-shore radio communication, it was difficult to determine how many vessels were lost.

Plans were made after the 1926 Gale to add radio equipment and engines to the fishing schooners. With these additions, schooners would be better prepared to survive similar storms. However, the improvements were not made in time to help during the 1927 August Gale.

In 1927, the Lunenburg schooners Mahala, Uda R Corkum, Clayton W. Walters, and Joyce M. Smith were lost with their entire crews. The American schooner Columbia, with mainly a Nova Scotian crew, was also lost. Close to 100 fishermen lost their lives. In addition to those loses, many vessels were lost along the Atlantic coast.

For the Lunenburg schooners, the disaster was particularly harsh. Each vessel had crew members who were related to each other. One example is found in the Mahala. The Captain, Warren Knickle, was lost with his two brothers, Owen and Grenville, and their brother-in-law, Scott Miller.

As in 1926, weeks of uncertainty were experienced by every family who had loved ones at sea. The Gale took place on August 24, 1927. In the case of the American schooner Columbia, it was October before the owners were able to confirm that their schooner had been lost.

The storm affected communities all along the eastern seaboard. Most of the crew of the Clayton W. Walters were from Newfoundland. Many of the others came from parts of Nova Scotia.

The "August Gales" exhibit emphasizes dangers of schooner fishing. The loss of 138 men in two years brought home hardships to many families.

For those families, the "Gales" were the start of years of mourning and financial worry. Nova Scotian families received monthly compensation cheques. Newfoundland families did not receive assistance until an Anglican minister arranged payments of $100.00 per year to each family who suffered a loss.

Visitors often spend long periods of time in this exhibit. The exhibit helps us to realize that a romantic view of schooner fishing is not an accurate one. Coastal communities owe a great debt to the families of the generations of men who have gone down to the sea in ships.

© 2004-2005 Province of Nova Scotia

Did this event even exist?
Doing a google search turns up no references to a Great August Gale in Canada in 1904, or any combination thereof, except on wikipedia and its mirrors. The monthly weather review for 1904 doesn't mention anything. Additionally, the entire text of this article was written by an anonymous who has basically no other contributions. I conclude that this article is misinformation. What should be done with it then? &mdash; jdorje (talk) 03:02, 13 February 2006 (UTC) OF COURSE THIS HAPPENED.IT SEEMS PREPOSTEROUS THAT SOMEONE WOULD MAKE UP SUCH A STORY.THE NAMES ARE TYPICAL SO SOMEWHERE THERE IS A KERNEL OF TRUTH btw AUGUST GALES ARE COMMON. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.147.109.141 (talk) 06:02, 15 November 2017 (UTC)