Rogue Waves - or Freak Waves - are you scared of them?

[raildogg]

I don't go out in the ocean that much. But for the people that do, I would have to imagine that is a risk. People always thought of weird stuff happening in the Bermuda Triangle, but they were probably rogue waves that did a lot of damage to the ship. In some cases, these waves come out of nowhere and reach 100ft high.

It is very mysterious and intriguing. There seem to be hotspots where they occur more than others.

What do you say?

 

[KLin]

Roge waves don't scare me a bit.

EDIT: Now a rogue wave, that's a different story 😉.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: KLin
Roge waves don't scare me a bit.

Have you experienced one before?

I did nearly 13 months ago. Lots of experience onboard and I read people well. There was plenty of fear. Fortunately it's a rare thing.

EDIT: Yes the correct spelling is Rogue. Most spell it rouge like the stuff that ladies put on their faces. Another is flourescent tube. Perhaps they think the white powder on the inside is flour. 😛

 

[raildogg]

Originally posted by: MS Dawn

Originally posted by: KLin
Roge waves don't scare me a bit.

Have you experienced one before?

I did nearly 13 months ago. Lots of experience onboard and I read people well. There was plenty of fear. Fortunately it's a rare thing.

Well now there may be explanations why such big ships suddenly had huge problems and went missing for so many years.

 

[notfred]

No. I've spent thousnads of hours on the beach and in the ocean and never seen one.

 

[ElMonoDelMar]

I've gone deep sea fishing a few times and I never worried about them.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: notfred
No. I've spent thousnads of hours on the beach and in the ocean and never seen one.

Its not a beach wave...
Its an open ocean wave of heights 50-200 feet, up to as tall as 20 story building.

I've been reading up on them recently, lemme find my bookmarks and ill post some info.

 

[waggy]

not really. but then i doubt im going to be out on the ocean heh

 

[imported_Trippin315]

Roge or rogue waves. I say bring it.

 

[MustangSVT]

yes.. being next to lake michigan it is a daily threat!

 

[FeuerFrei]

No, I'm very floatatious.

 

[Rubycon]

Actually freak people are scarier. :Q

 

[NTB]

Technically? yes. A wall is supposed to be an inanimate object. I am supposed to hit *it*, say if I have an accident or something. The wall is not supposed to hit *me*. 😛

Realistically? Nope. As has been said - the odds of any particular person encountering one are pretty slim.

Nate

 

[BW86]

I've never encountered one while out in the ocean. I would probably sh!t my pants if I saw one.

 

[gentobu]

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: notfred
No. I've spent thousnads of hours on the beach and in the ocean and never seen one.

Its not a beach wave...
Its an open ocean wave of heights 50-200 feet, up to as tall as 20 story building.

I've been reading up on them recently, lemme find my bookmarks and ill post some info.

Yeah, if I ever saw a 200ft tall wave I'd probably sh!t myself. Twice.😱

 

[NTB]

Originally posted by: gentobu

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: notfred
No. I've spent thousnads of hours on the beach and in the ocean and never seen one.

Its not a beach wave...
Its an open ocean wave of heights 50-200 feet, up to as tall as 20 story building.

I've been reading up on them recently, lemme find my bookmarks and ill post some info.

Yeah, if I ever saw a 200ft tall wave I'd probably sh!t myself. Twice.😱

First you say it, then you do it 😛

Nate

 

[teddyv]

I've been hit twice while bluewater sailing - one I could hear before it hit, the other just slammed us. Both times the whole boat was thrown violently to the side, no damage though aside from things flying off shelves. Both hit at night and both were probably 6' to 8' running with the wind. They is not terribly rare and from my understanding usually comes from a unique combination of wind and tide.

 

[ActuaryTm]

AFDBs provide protection against these waves.

 

[WhiteKnight]

With the kind of ships I'm on (container ships), any rougue wave big enough to significantly affect them is more than enough to scare me.

 

[NTB]

Originally posted by: teddyv
I've been hit twice while bluewater sailing - one I could hear before it hit, the other just slammed us. Both times the whole boat was thrown violently to the side, no damage though aside from things flying off shelves. Both hit at night and both were probably 6' to 8' running with the wind. They is not terribly rare and from my understanding usually comes from a unique combination of wind and tide.

Unless you were sailing on otherwise calm seas, I don't think those qualify as "Rogue waves". The special that was on TV the other night (Either on Discovery or National Geographic; I forget which) said that the technical definition of a rogue wave is a wave that is, at a minimum 2 to 3 times the height of whatever would be considered a "normal" wave under the given conditions. I'll see if I can find a link somewhere.

EDIT: OK, I was a little off:

In oceanography, they are more concisely defined as waves that are more than double the significant wave height (SWH), which is itself defined as the mean of the largest third of waves in a wave record.

link

Nate

 

[Specop 007]

I worry about rogue waves about as much as I worry about crashing into a tanker truck full of acid and being dissolved.

Its a concern, but I dont lose any sleep over it either.

 

[aidanjm]

I am suspicious of the ocean, and try to avoid it as much as possible

 

[NTB]

Originally posted by: WhiteKnight
With the kind of ships I'm on (container ships), any rougue wave big enough to significantly affect them is more than enough to scare me.

I know that container ships are absolutely huge, but I'm still trying to get an idea of scale: I've heard that some people think a rogue wave is what sank the Edmund Fitzgerald. That ship was 729 feet long, with a cargo capacity of around 27,000 tons, according to that article. How does that compare? Having seen pictures of some of the ocean-going container ships, I'm going to say small 😛

Nate

 

[NTB]

Originally posted by: aidanjm
I am suspicious of the ocean, and try to avoid it as much as possible

Watched Jaws a few too many times as a kid, huh? 😛

Nate

 

[BoomerD]

I've worked on crane barges and Derrick barges for many years, and have experienced a couple of unusually large waves that came from out of nowhere, and completely unexpected, due to the tides, currents and weather. Fortunately, none as large as in the TV show the other nite, but big enough to break over our decks ( usually 10 to 25 ' above the water line) and wash unsecured things and people into the ocean. VERY good reason to wear the life jacket as required by Coast Guard regs...We've even experienced what are called rogue waves working in San Francisco bay, although most likely, they were kicked up by a passing ferry or ship that on one happened to observe. Scary ****** CAN & DOES happen out at sea however...