|
Sable Island, Nova Scotia, emerging from the Atlantic Ocean along the Gulf Stream, serves as a critical landmass for Trans-Atlantic vessels to avoid before they can safely continue of their voyages to the east, west or into Halifax.
Located 180 miles east south east of Halifax, Sable Island (not to be confused with Cape Sable Island, in Shelburne County) is a 30-mile long sand bar with drifting sand bars that extend submerged far off the east and west ends.
Often enveloped in fog, the waters of Sable Island pose significant navigation hazards due to the shifting Gulf Stream.
The Gulf Stream flows from the Straits of Florida, passing Cape Cod before veering east towards Ireland. The current is so powerful that it has carried several abandoned vessels from the
|
the waters off Canada to a single beach in Ireland.
In winter, the Gulf Stream stays offshore to the south of Sable Island. In summer, it shifts closer to the island. Its force is so strong that vessels sailing along its northern edge can be pushed northward off course up to 100 miles
and directly into the rocky shores of Nova Scotia.
|
