Albert Hunter mentions in his journal that there are strong and heavy winds called gales. Gales are very strong winds with speeds that reach from 52 - 63 mph. Several ships sunk from gales on Lake Champlain.
Sunken Ships:
General Butler-Dec. 9, 1876
General Butler was a canal that used sails.
Water Witch - Apr. 26, 1866
The Water Witch was a steam boat from 1832 - 1834, but in 1835 it was striped of all it's machinery and converted into a schooner.
O.J Walker - May 11, 1895
O.J Walker was a canal boat that helped in carrying heavy cargo.
This wind chart shows the kind of wind Albert experienced. The chart starts with the weakest wind and ends with the strongest wind.
Beaufort Wind Scale
| Beaufort Number | Description | Wind Speed (km/h) | Effect |
| 0 | Calm | Less than 2 | Smoke Rises Vertically |
| 1 | Light Air | 2-5 | Smoke drift shows wind direction, wind vanes don't move. |
| 2 | Light Breeze | 6-12 | Wind felt on face, wind vanes move. |
| 3 | Gentle Breeze | 13-20 | Leaves and small twigs in motion, hair disturbed, clothing flaps. |
| 4 | Moderate Breeze | 21-30 | Dust and loose paper moved, small branches move. |
| 5 | Fresh Breeze | 31-40 | Small trees with leaves begin to sway, wind force felt on body. |
| 6 | Strong Breeze | 41-51 | Large branches move, umbrellas difficult to use, difficult to walk steady. |
| 7 | Moderate Gale | 52-63 | Whole trees in motion, inconvenience felt when walking. |
| 8 | Gale | 64-77 | Twigs broken off trees, difficult to walk. |
| 9 | Strong Gale | 64-77 | People blown over, slight structural damage including tiles being blown off houses. |
| 10 | Whole Gale | 88-101 | Trees uprooted, considerable structural damage. |
| 11 | Storm | 102-120 | Widespread damage. |
| 12 | Hurricane | Greater than 120 | Widespread devastation. |
Image used with permission. www.spc.noaa.gov
Bibliography:
Albert Hunter Journal
"NOAA;s National Weather Service." Beaufort Wind Scale. 8 Nov. 2005.
<http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/beaufort.htm>.
Kane, Adam. "Lake Champlain Maritime Museum." Underwater Historic Preserves. 7 Nov. 2005.
<http://www.lcmm.org/site/index/framesets/mri_framesets/frameset_mri_underwater.html>.