How high from the water is the average offshore oil rig?

[Excelsior]

?

 

[FoBoT]

a long ways, like 50-70 ft , something like that

 

[DrPizza]

IIRC, there was a 100 or 110 foot wave that swept across one last year or the year before...

So, I'd say in the 70 to 110 range.

 

[DrPizza]

Found an article on rogue waves here
The one I was thinking of was 26 meters high and swept across the deck...

 

[Excelsior]

Thanks guys.

 

[glenn1]

How high from the water is the average offshore oil rig?

Dunno, but they're pretty fu**ing big. Worked with some SEALS on a mission before and they said the hardest thing they've ever done is a covert insertion onto one of those derricks in the North Sea. For folks that went through Hell Week, that's saying something. Can you imagine having to climb up to the top by shimmying up the stilt on one of those sonabitches in the dead of night, ice cold water making your hands freeze to the metal, humping a combat weight load of sh!t and having to do a takedown once you finally reached the top? For some reason I can't see why a terrorist would want to go through all that work to take one over. WTF would possess some Saudi guy to jump into a Zodiac boat, freeze his ass off, and damn near drown in that choppy sea up there, and do a ladderless climb up a hundred feet or so to commadeer an oil derrick? Not like you can go joyriding in it or crash it into the White House or something. Even if I managed to do all that, the first thing I'd want is some hot chocolate and to get warm, not to take hostages and start shouting about "Allahu Ahkbar."