Sable Island: The August Gales

History

In August 1926 and August 1927 the Lunenburg fishing fleet was caught in ferocious storms off Sable Island. In all, 138 fishermen were lost. Many came from the same small Nova Scotia fishing villages. The impact on their communities was devastating.

Here are a few of the Nova Scotians lost to the August Gales. They were the crew of the fishing schooner Columbia, which sank off Sable in August 1927.

	George Mayo and his sister, during their brothers wedding. George, 28, died along with his brother Ab and his father Joseph. Another brother, Bert, survived aboard an engine-powered trawler. The story is told that, at the height of the storm, Bert was startled by an apparition of George in the wheelhouse. George said "Bert, we're all gone" and vanished.
	James McLeod, 65, was from Liverpool, Queens County. He had retired from the sea but decided to make this one last trip. He was survived by his widow and family.
	Allister Firth and his father, Arthur, were from Shelburne County. Allister was 17. He didn't want to go on this trip and had tried several times to escape. Just before the schooner was to sail, he hid at his friend's house, but his father found him and forced him on board.
	Some of the crew just before their last trip. In the back row are Allister Firth, Arthur Firth and Captain Lewis Wharton. In the front are Clayton Johnson, Enos Belong, and Frank Dedrick.

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