7 Story Wave??

[ssullivan]

The news story below is amazing. It's increcible how we are now starting to see many witnesses and documented accounts of natural phenomenon that in the past were just hearsay. This, combined with the tsunami footage from earlier this year reminds me that there are still some very challenging conditions that crop up.

What would any of you do if faced with this horrendous rogue wave?

I think I would just close all hatches, lock everything, get below and hope I made it through the roller coaster ride.

-----Begine AP News Story----


Cruise Ship Returning After Wave Damage

52 minutes ago

CHARLESTON, S.C. - A freak seven-story wave that slammed into a cruise ship sent furniture sailing through the air, knocked Jacuzzis overboard and forced some passengers to sleep in hallways in life jackets.


The Norwegian Dawn docked in the Charleston harbor for repairs after running into the rough weather Saturday while returning to New York from the Bahamas. The 965-foot vessel departed early Sunday after a Coast Guard inspection and was expected in New York at midday Monday.

"The ship was hit by a freak wave that caused two windows to break in two different cabins," Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement. It said 62 cabins flooded and four passengers had cuts and bruises. The wave reached as high as deck 10 on the ship, company spokeswoman Susan Robison said Sunday.

James Fraley, who was taking a honeymoon cruise with his wife, said they called their loved ones as the wave pounded the boat because they thought the ship was going down.

"It was pure hell. We're talking 47-foot waves hitting the 10th floor, knocking Jacuzzis on the 12th floor overboard — people sleeping in hallways in life jackets," Fraley told WCBD-TV in Charleston. "Just pure pandemonium."

Bill and Ellen Tesauro of Wayne, N.J., said they went to the ship's casino when waves started slamming the vessel.

"We figured it would take our minds off this (and) that's when the captain announced that drinks are free all night," Bill Tesauro told the Daily News of New York. "But then there was another horrendous slap on the water."

The panicked couple decided to return to their suite.

"A desk went flying across the room," Ellen Tesauro said. "And a glass table toppled down, with glasses and food on it."

Stacy Maryland of Hamilton, N.J., woke up to find shoes and magazines floating in a foot of water.

"I thought I heard water sloshing around, and then I woke up and saw it, and it was surreal," she told the newspaper.

The cruise line said passengers whose cabins were flooded were flown home from Charleston and the safety of the ship "was in no way compromised by this incident." Each passenger on the ship got a refund of half the trip's cost and a voucher for half the price of a future cruise, Robison said.

The ship left New York on April 10 with 2,500 passengers aboard. Robison said about 300 passengers decided not to return by ship from Charleston. About 100 were flown back to New York and the rest made their own arrangements, Robison said.

"I rented a car and drove nine hours," said Fraley, of Keansburg, N.J., who kissed his driveway when he got home. "No more time on the Titanic for me."

[Greg B]

Here are my thoughts. FWIW boating is getting way too popular and it's getting way too crowded on the water. So a few people get their Gucci's wet and never want to go near water again. I like that!!!!

Greg

[irwinsailor]

Greg, I think boat operation will be down this year due to gas and fuel prices. This will be our year for peace on the water!

[delmarrey]

Here we are in the S. Pacific in a Typhoon. 25-30' swells coming over our bow on 365' vessel. You just have to slow down enough to maintain control. If you go too fast you crash right through the wave causing damage to anything on deck.

I rather enjoyed the rough seas on a large ship. My favorite thing to do was to stand at the bottom of a stairway and wait for a good wave. Then in one swooping step make it to the top. And going down was just as much fun.

Of course we didn't have all the windows like on a cruise ship. And the bridge glass was bullet proof too.



It takes a true sailor to enjoy, and respect, the sea and it's power.........._/)

[ssullivan]

Del,

You have some great pictures (submerged object impact, this one.... and of course that boat of yours).

Thanks for sharing.

[Alan Wheeler]

Sean, to answer your first question, "What would you do", simple answer. "Put your head between your legs, and get ready to kiss your ass goodbye".
Actually there is stuff all you can do, apart from hang on for the ride. It is important to understand two things with a REAL ROGUE wave. Firstly, It will be VERY Steep. This seems to be the reason for most damage of vessels. If the wave was just three times bigger than the surrounding sea's, but still of the same length, then apart from that rollercoaster feeling, you would go up over top. But the main concern with these waves, is that they are darn near verticle. They defy the laws of gravity as it were. The steepness does also give reason to why they are short lived. Oh and yes, the reports are of waves with as much as three times the height of the surrounding sea. So a 40ft sea can produce a monster of well over 100ft. So if you are faced with one and you are in a large ship, the ship just physicaly can't go over the thing. The ship continues straight in with the bow of what ever area is hit first, failing to lift and the resultant wall of water traveling down the vessel hitting the superstructure with awesome impact. The other point, it comes from a different angle than the normal sea is coming from. So vessels are often facing a sea at the best angles for comfort to passengers and safety of the ship. But when these monsters impact, they catch all unawares, because the Wave comes from a different direction.
So how do we as sailors of smaller vessels fare, Well I can't truthfully comment here, as I have never been out in that sort of stuff yet. All I can suggest is as you have stated. Make sure everything is well battend down. It will be anyway. And hold on for the ride. Should you be knocked down, then hope the rig remains.
Oh and Delmarrey, I know of two large vessel reports from down in our Southern ocean, that lost there supposedly bullet proof main front windows on the bridge after being hit full on by these monsters.
So why don't we see them more often, or even crashing on to our shores?? Well a Rogue wave is not a travelling wave of energy like the rest of the surrounding sea is at time. It is not produced by wind over distance. OK, firstly picture a calm pond. Now drop a bucket of water from just above the ponds surface, and you will see tewo things. Firstly the water from the bucket enters the pond water, but it's continueing energy falls bellow the pond durface creating a hole. Then the pond surface wanting fill that hole, rushes back in a results in over filling the hole and a peak develops. The result then is as it falls, a wave travels out from the impact area and you will note is is quite large, because it has the energy of the bucket of water plus the energy of the falling crest of the cntre of th impact area. A rogue wave is the result of two other waves becoming out of "sync" with the surround sea, and failing to support there energy in the verticle. The result is that they collapse. But 40ft of water weighing hundreds of thousnads of tons, can't just be droped with out that energy going somewhere. It seems that their energy ends up being added to the next wave coming along and the result is that it stands up much higher than the surrounding sea. But because it is gaining it's energy from a verticle plain, it stands incredibly steeply. Plus the wave may be radiating out in a diffrent direction that the sourround sea. So it's horizontal impact against a sea of a different direction, also gives it verticle energy. Much like a sea against a tide. The only blessing, is that these steep seas are mostly short lived.
Well that is my theory, NOT fact. I am a Live sound engineer and understand wave theory very well. But hydrodynamics is a little different to acoustic dynamics.

[GordMay]

Wheels: ”...If the wave was just three times bigger than the surrounding sea's, but still of the same length, then apart from that rollercoaster feeling, you would go up over top. But the main concern with these waves, is that they are darn near vertical ...”

Wouldn’t a triple height wave, of the same length necessarily be steeper?
tan θ = b/a
where b = wave height,
and a = wave length

[ssullivan]

Gord, you awoke the Physics Degree hiding somewhere in me.. .ha ha ha

I agree... any wave with more amplitude and the same wavelength would definitely be "steeper."

Good catch.

[Alan Wheeler]

Yes that's a good point Gord.

[delmarrey]

Who says we need more positive buoyancy....................._/)

[Alan Wheeler]

Hmmmm, ya may have something there Delmarrey, we could all take to submarines and slip below the ruff stuff. But what the heck is that thing?? I am not sure which I would rather be in, a sardine can below the surface of the water, or that thing that looks like it shlould be above, but more than likely spends 50% of the time below. So is the rust real, or camaflouge
Back to the sub thought, we wouldn't have to check into customes either. No one would know when we arrive and when we leave.

[delmarrey]

It's a US Navy DE (Distroyer Escort) in the South China Sea during that same storm as the one above. The bow is normal 15-18 feet above the water, not sure exactually.

There's not really that much rust. It's just a bad photo.

As for the submarine I'm building a small radio op. sailing-sub prototype that I've had on my mind for years. I like being out in the rough seas. And having a sub with extra heavy rigging, it could take a huge wave and just plow thru it. It would have bilge tanks that you can pump in water during the bad weather and then pump it out for the nice stuff. I haven't quite figured out the cockpit arrangment yet.

I'll have to find my drawing and post it. But basiclly, it's a torpedo with a finkeel with a skeg hung rudder with the prop. in between.

I'm thinking it should be make of steel so all the hatches seal real good but small deck type hatches in reinforced FG would probably work.

It could even be used as a rescue vessel if set up properly........._/)

[Naughty Cats]

Looks like a Gearing class DD to me (Late WWII Construction updated in the 1960's FRAM program) I rode a couple of those before deciding nuclear submarines offered more comfort.

[delmarrey]

Could be a DD. Can't remember or even see the numbers.

The picture is 34 years old. Ooops! now I'm giving away my age.

[Alan Wheeler]

arrrr, so that's why it looks Rusty. It's not the boat, it's the photo