Whirlwind to trouble British sailors sucked in (7)
I believe the answer is:
tornado
'whirlwind' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'to trouble british sailors sucked in' is the wordplay.
'trouble' becomes 'ado' (both can mean bother or commotion).
'british sailors' becomes 'RN' (Royal Navy).
'sucked in' indicates putting letters inside.
'to'+'ado'='toado'
'toado' enclosing 'rn' is 'TORNADO'.
(Other definitions for tornado that I've seen before include "squall" , "Terrible current" , "Typhoon" , "Violent whirlwind over land" , "wind-up" .)