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George Huxtable wrote:

> I have a half-memory, in the back of my mind, of a man o'war attempting to
> disrupt an approaching waterspout by firing guns in its direction. Whether
> this  account was fact or fiction, whether the attempt was successful or
> not, whether the guns fired blanks or shot, none of this I can recall. It
> could well have been in a Hornblower story. Does anyone recall such an
> account, anywhere?


Harland's "Seamanship in the Age of Sail" (Conway, 1984) notes gunfire
as the "traditional" way to deal with waterspouts and quotes Baudin
("Manuel du Jeune Marin", 1828) as saying that it had been known to work.

Smyth's "Sailor's Word Book" (1867) notes "cannon fire" as a suggested
solution but does not say whether it actually works.

Neither book says whether the guns should fire shot or not, though Smyth
noted that the idea was to use the concussion of the gunfire to disrupt
the spout. If it were me, I'd use shot. That might not help but it would
be unlikely to hurt and, with a direct hit, could affect a spout while
it was still too far away for the shock wave from the gun's mussel to
have any effect. Besides, a frigate stored for foreign service carried
100 rounds of shot per gun (in the 1790s anyway). Expending a few on
waterspouts would not be much of a sacrifice.


Trevor Kenchington


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Trevor J. Kenchington PhD                         Gadus@iStar.ca
Gadus Associates,                                 Office(902) 889-9250
R.R.#1, Musquodoboit Harbour,                     Fax   (902) 889-9251
Nova Scotia  B0J 2L0, CANADA                      Home  (902) 889-3555

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