Uniformitarian geologists have made the erroneous assertion that the present is the key to the past. They seem somewhat clueless as how weather can change from calm to terrifying. A guest speaker at our church once commented on how the waves never got very high on the lake in which the disciples of Jesus sailed. He said that a discovery of an ancient fishing boat with its shallow draft made it vulnerable to minor storms. A member of the congregation made a different comment. He said the waves in that region could reach two stories high Apparently he witnessed such an event or heard from the tour guide when he visited that part of the world. Perhaps these two people visited at different times of the year.
A cataclysmic example which disproves the dogma of uniformitarian geology that the present is the key to the past is the Great Lakes Storm of 1913. While reading the Wikipedia article about the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, this writer ran across mention of the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 which claimed even more lives and destroyed a number of ships.
The storm formed on November 6 and dissipated about November 11 or November 12, depending on which account one reads. While the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking took place years later it is interesting to note the sinking on November 10 was around the same time of year.
While one may assume that lakes are nice and tranquil, such is not always the case. Some sailors have even said the turbulence on the Great Lakes was worse than storms on our oceans. While this may seem unbelievable, think about the scenario. Perhaps the force of nature on the lake is concentrated in a smaller area thus intensifying its effect. On the ocean there may be more room for thee force to dissipate. Of course the ocean can also breed larger storms but perhaps the concentration of force is also a major factor in determining the strength or deadliness of a storm. Another thing to keep in mind is the relationship between land and water in a storm. This writer talked to someone who lives in the Great Lakes region. That pointed out that it is safer to be in the center of the lake during a storm than near land, since most of the damage is near the shore when ships are lifted and dashed against the land. Maybe that is why being in the middle of the ocean could be safer than being near the shore of the lake in a storm.
According to the Wikipedia article about 19 ships were destroyed, 19 ships damaged and more than 250 lives were lost. By today’s standards the loss in shipping would be $100 million in shipping and $1 million in cargo. There was also damage on land as well. But apparently that is not available. The Wikipedia described this event as the worst natural disaster to hit the Great Lakes.
As a result of this disaster, improvements were made in weather forecasting and shipbuilding. While those actions may have reduced the loss of property and life they did not put a total stop to such losses. We will probably never be able to build “unsinkable” ships or make perfect weather forecasts. We should remember that there is only so much we can do.
