The Last Word: Terrors of the Sea

[SabreKai]

There's a photo out there, taken in 38 or 39 just before the war I think, from the flag bridge of Admiral Hipper in the South Atlantic that shows a wave over 90 feet tall. Its been around for years, I first saw it in a book back in the 80s. They do exist under the right conditions. It would be nice to be anywhere else when those conditions are matched.


Sabre

[olivertwist]

In the video, "Making the Call", by surfline.com Sean Collins explains that the lensing effect of underwater reefs can cause wave heights to be magnified by 3 to 5 times. The Draupner wave was about 5X the average wave height at the time. Constructive interference, where the heights of crossing waves add, will also cause abnormally high waves. The Newport Wedge is a perfect example of this phenomenon. Search 'Newport Wedge' on youtube to see the effect of waves, reflected off a breakwater, combining with the incoming swell to produce much larger waves.

[dacust]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

the 2 examples we are looking at here, one was in 1991 and one in 1995.

Using my fingers and toes to count, its a lot of years.
Why arn't these weather bouys and their Big Brother Controller finding more? Like enough to eat those "dozens of ships per year"?

2 waves in 20 years does not make a it a credible threat, imho.

"In 2004 scientists using three weeks of radar images from European Space Agency satellites found ten rogue waves, each 25 metres or higher."

Rogue wave - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

-dan

[MarcW]

Tassie catches big waves but is 42 degrees south.

17 sept 2010
The Apple Isle is now the home of Australia's biggest recorded wave - 18.4 metres high - after wild weather lashed the state yesterday.The freakishly big wave was recorded yesterday morning by a wave-rider buoy device off Cape Sorell on Tasmania's west coast.

Surf was up that day

[dennisail]

Anyone interested in freak waves needs to watch this 5 part youtube vid.

YouTube - Freak Waves part 1/5 [Commented by TOHID]

According to the vid, they do exist and they are much larger and more common than once thought. However the phenomenon only seems to occur when waves are already huge in severe storm conditions (ie you will already be crapping your pants and be in danger). So you cant compare waves hitting a rock wall to this freak wave effect unless your rock wall is being hit by 30foot + ocean waves. These waves don't just happen in calm or even rough weather, only extreme weather which any decent cruiser will be able to avoid. Hopefully

[bigpuff]

there is some good sat. specks out about r, waves now,bit more commen then previosly thought;my only real go at one was in the cook strait n.z.30kts.S.Erunning eased sheets,2 reefs aheep of rolls in the genny still making an easy 7knts and alls well.first the quiet(witsh made me look back)20 meters astern was ahorizontel wall of water 10 to 12 meters above the 2to3 meter running sea.with in 10 seconds id checked my harnes,frew in the top slide,prayed,#%*@my self and held on for dear life.the moment after it hit i looked up and the only part of the boat out of the water was mast & sails,no damage.a lot of froth,i was very lucky