210 OBSERVATIONS ON THE WINDS. 



which follow each other almost without interruption. They generally last 

 but a short time, and occur between the middle of December and the end 

 of February, or the beginning of March. 



The N.E. wind is not frequent in winter, but it is accompanied by thick 

 fogs, in which case it blows heavily for two or three days, and is then called 

 Nord-Este Pardo (the dirty North-Easter). When it shifts to the S.E., by 

 the East, you should as far as possible keep in with the coast, because the 

 wind will shortly come from South. When the South wind, after lasting 

 two or three days, veers to S.W., either get off the land or else enter some 

 harbour, because the N.W. wind will soon come on. 



In the spring the winds are generally very light, and nearly always from 

 N.W. or S.W., accompanied by rain. In some years these winds last until 

 July. 



The ocean-swell from the N.W., coming from the open Atlantic, is the 

 heaviest and most dangerous on this coast ; it penetrates every harbour and 

 creek, and there is no shelter from the waves in any of them until the bars 

 at the entrances become uncovered by the ebb tide. This dangerous state of 

 the sea commences in the middle of September or beginning of October, 

 and, with slight interruption, it continues through two-thirds of the year. 

 This swell is almost always a precursor of the wind from that direction, 

 and sometimes precedes it by twenty-four hours. Sometimes in the summer 

 season enormous waves are seen to set in during perfectly calm and serene 

 weather. They close every harbour, and dash on the coast like enormous 

 mountains of water, and break on the outlying banks with 20 to 40 fathoms 

 water over them. It is needless to state that these are most dangerous to a 

 ship close in with the shore. Captain FitzRoy states that they overtopped 

 the mainyard of the Thetis, 56 feet above the water-line. 



In August there is a danger of encountering a peculiar squall or tornado, 

 called on the Biscayan coast Galerna. It is formed on the land by the sun's 

 heat, and shifts by the S. W. ; the horizon becomes obscured, and it quickly 

 increases in strength as it passes to N.W. Every precaution should be 

 taken against them; they are excessively violent, and last three or four 

 hours. They bring rain, and sink at night in the N.W. Sometimes, 

 especially in summer, the Galerna is a sudden shift from South to N.W. 

 without any notice, and in this case is very dangerous. It is also common 

 to see winds blowing at the same time from South and N.W., only separated 

 by a narrow belt of calm between the heavy waves they send up. 



The South wind is foretold by the atmosphere being so clear that the 

 distant lands and inland peaks become very distinct, and apparently close-to. 

 If the high lands are very clear and distinct, with the wind from East, and 

 a line of ashy-coloured clouds should be seen on the peaks, the South wind 

 is coming on. The local sailors also can foretell the approach by the clouds 

 of dust raised inland, or by the direction of the smoke from the dwellings 

 on shore 



" Why should the sea be higher, or more dangerous, in the Bay of Biscay 

 than it is in the middle of the Atlantic or elsewhere ? Is it really so ? are 

 questions often asked. 



" I believe that there is a shorter, higher, and consequently worse sea, 

 in and near the Bay of Biscay, than is often found in other places, and 



