How big do waves get in the ocean?

[JBA]

Next time wifey asks for a cruise I'm going to show her these. Nuff said.

[Elfie]

Next time wifey asks for a cruise I'm going to show her these. Nuff said.

 

[Rich46yo]

I was out in this thing once. http://www.carolinaprincess.com/default.aspx For two days we sat in Moorehead city NC cause it was just blowing to hard. The 3rd day, despite the fact it was blowing even harder, they took us out.

I cant believe this Capt. took this boat out in those monster seas. For two hours we chopped our way out to the fishing grounds while the entire boat puked, except for me. Finally we get out there and the Capt decides to turn it around cause a tornado was spotted. So it was two horrible hours back in. I forget what the seas were but they were huge.

The next two days it calmed down and we killed the bottom fish. But I'll never forget that 1st day. Ive had Lake Michigan almost kill me to while hunting salmon and trout. Boy you dont mess with big water.

[68Wooley]

I've seen flying jellyfish before.  It's rather sobering to see one cross the deck of a small sailboat after a decent wave.

Jellyfish suck the big one.

Way back when, when I was teaching sailing, the buggers would wrap themselves around every anchor and mooring line we had going. Your hands got used to it eventually, but if you wiped your eyes or took a leak at lunchtime without washing your hands first...

[AquaShrimp]

Jellyfish suck the big one.

Way back when, when I was teaching sailing, the buggers would wrap themselves around every anchor and mooring line we had going. Your hands got used to it eventually, but if you wiped your eyes or took a leak at lunchtime without washing your hands first...

Gloves.

[C(Sea)Bass]

When life gives you huge frakking waves, get a surfboard.

(BTW that guy is insane)

[Rash]

Mmmmm Cortes Bank. Off California, 100 miles out. Open ocean swells break on an undersea mountain.

In this clip the tallest wave is 66 feet. Absolutely beautiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szRREEsCkpo

I'd be willing to wager though that anybody without a lifetime of big-wave surfing experience will probably die very, very quickly.

How did something like this happen? 

On 2 November 1985 the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) struck the Cortes Bank reef about one mile east of Bishop Rock during exercises, putting a 40-foot (12 meter) gash in her outer hull and damaging a propeller. She continued operations then went into dry dock at Hunter's Point Shipyard in San Francisco for repairs.[3]

[DieAz]

those waves are in need of harnessing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_power

[Ack-Ack]

How did something like this happen? 

On 2 November 1985 the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) struck the Cortes Bank reef about one mile east of Bishop Rock during exercises, putting a 40-foot (12 meter) gash in her outer hull and damaging a propeller. She continued operations then went into dry dock at Hunter's Point Shipyard in San Francisco for repairs.[3]

Some peaks are just 20 feet below the surface, the Enterprise hit one of them.  If you didn't know, the Cortes Bank is actually an underwater mountain range, which creates the big waves.

It is a trip to look at surface radar when you're in the area and you can see the big waves being detected.


ack-ack

[storch]

When life gives you huge frakking waves, get a surfboard.

(BTW that guy is insane)

he's not insane he's skilled.  by the look of that wave I would guess he also wiped out on that one in the next second or two but it's hard to tell without seeing the whole wave.  to me it looks like he'll end up too far back in the barrel.

[Ack-Ack]

he's not insane he's skilled.  by the look of that wave I would guess he also wiped out on that one in the next second or two but it's hard to tell without seeing the whole wave.  to me it looks like he'll end up too far back in the barrel.

Definitely looks like he's about a second or two away from having the barrel crash on him.  You can see the line he took when he was towed into the wave.


ack-ack

[rpm]

The roughest seas I was ever in were the Bering during the winter of 1980. We were taking 60-70ft waves that were threatening to break the bridge windows (03 deck) on USCGC Boutwell (WHEC-719). You could feel the ship shudder and hear the shockwave coming down the frames everytime we hit one. We took some wicked rolls that ALPAT,too. I spent more time walking on the bulkheads than on the deck.

[gpwurzel]

We had a storm hit the UK (I say storm, was actually a hurricane lol) in 1986 - spend the entire time at sea - when the storm had abated, we'd lost all the signal halyards, all the signal lamps on the port side (at the time we had 20 inch lamps - which are big and heavy) - and most of the guardrails were bent/mangled. We had a veteran ships company, but still had big troubles with mal de mere (seasickness) which was quite amusing (for those of us who dont suffer with it...lol).

Nice thing tho, there were no queues for scran (food)

Wurzel

[cpxxx]

Impressive waves! My only experience of waves was from ferries in the Irish sea. Which does get fairly rough. However the ships are stablised which takes some of the sting out of the waves. I remember one stormy passage. I didn't seem so bad until I spotted a coaster off to the starboard. She would literally disappear in a wall of spray ever couple of waves. Terrifying looking.

I'm not prone much to seasickness luckily. I remember that same day going to the ship's cafeteria for lunch. I was pretty much alone there I had terrible trouble though stopping my meal from flying off the table.

[Hornet33]

The roughest seas I was ever in were the Bering during the winter of 1980. We were taking 60-70ft waves that were threatening to break the bridge windows (03 deck) on USCGC Boutwell (WHEC-719). You could feel the ship shudder and hear the shockwave coming down the frames everytime we hit one. We took some wicked rolls that ALPAT,too. I spent more time walking on the bulkheads than on the deck.

RPM, do you happen to know a guy by the name Allen Mordica? He was on Boutwell around that time frame. Sonar Tech.