Anyone heard of "Super Rogue Waves"

My father says to me today, "Do NOT cruise ever again! One ship disappears EVERY MONTH thanks to these Rogue Waves that can be up to 100 feet high." I laugh at him over the phone, roll my eyes and change the subject. Then I hit CC to plan my next cruise. :)

Just for fun though, a few hours ago I googled these superwaves.... I was kinda surprised to see that what he said had some truth to it:

Huge waves that tower over ships before crashing down, snapping them like twigs and sending their terrified crews to an untimely end.

Now satellite technology has proved for the first time that the world's oceans are indeed stalked by hundreds of these mammoth waves, each weighing millions of tons.

The so-called 'rogue waves' have been the anecdotal cause of scores of sinkings of vessels as large as container ships and supertankers over the past 20 years.

Stories of ships mysteriously sent to watery graves by sudden, giant waves have long puzzled scientists and sailors. New research by San Francisco State professor Tim Janssen suggests that changes in water depth and currents, which are common in coastal areas, may significantly increase the likelihood of these extreme waves.

Published in the Journal of Physical Oceanography, Janssen's wave model simulations show that focusing of waves by shoals and currents could increase the likelihood of a freak wave by as much as 10 times. Although scientists cannot predict the occurrence of individual extreme waves, Janssen's findings help pinpoint conditions and locations favorable for giant waves.

Sailors often whisper of monster waves when ships sink mysteriously but, until now, no one quite believed them.

As part of a project called MaxWave - which was set up to test the rumours - two Esa satellites surveyed the oceans.

During a three week period they detected 10 giant waves, all of which were over 25m (81ft) high.

Strange disappearances

Over the last two decades more than 200 super-carriers - cargo ships over 200m long - have been lost at sea. Eyewitness reports suggest many were sunk by high and violent walls of water that rose up out of calm seas.

But for years these tales of towering beasts were written off as fantasy; and many marine scientists clung to statistical models stating monstrous deviations from the normal sea state occur once every 1,000 years.

The waves exist in higher numbers than anyone expected

Wolfgang Rosenthal, GKSS Research Centre, Germany

"Two large ships sink every week on average," said Wolfgang Rosenthal, of the GKSS Research Centre in Geesthacht, Germany. "But the cause is never studied to the same detail as an air crash. It simply gets put down to 'bad weather'."

To prove the phenomenon or lay the rumours to rest, a consortium of 11 organisations from six EU countries founded MaxWave in December 2000.

As part of the project, Esa tasked two of its Earth-scanning satellites, ERS-1 and ERS-2, to monitor the oceans with their radar.

The radars sent back "imagettes" - pictures of the sea surface in a rectangle measuring 10 by 5km (6 by 2.5 miles), which were taken every 200km (120 miles).

Around 30,000 separate imagettes were produced by the two satellites during a three-week period in 2001 - and the data was mathematically analysed.

Esa says the survey revealed 10 massive waves - some nearly 30m (100 ft) high.

"The waves exist in higher numbers than anyone expected," said Dr Rosenthal.

Extreme waves, also known as "freak" or "rogue" waves, measure roughly three times the size of the average wave height of a given sea state. Recorded monster waves have exceeded 60-feet -- the approximate size of a six-story building. Janssen's research suggests that in areas where wave energy is focused, the probability of freak-waves is much greater than previously believed.

Wave focal zones are particularly common in coastal areas where water depth variations and strong currents can result in dramatic focusing of wave energy. Such effects are particularly well known around river mouths and coastal inlets, restricting accessibility for shipping due to large, breaking waves near the inlet, or resulting in erosion issues at nearby beaches. Extreme examples of wave focusing over coastal topography include world-class surf spots, such as Mavericks and Cortez Banks in California. The identification of freak wave hot spots is also important for shipping and navigation in coastal areas, and the design of offshore structures.

And from BBC News:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8188550.stm

If you watch the Learning Channel or Discovery, you've heard of them. I have a feeling the odds of being involved with a rogue wave is less than hitting the lottery!

You are far more likely to be hit by lightening.

Rotterdam encountered a huge wave about 7 or so years ago and while the ship was damaged and they endured a 'rocky ride', the ship rode it out and all survived. Some injuries, of course, but in the end repairs were made to persons and ship and she still safely sails. :)

if you research the most recent (or maybe most public) attack of such a wave on a cruise ship .... I do believe the NTSB report never uses this term. :o

years at sea ... can't say I saw one. 'course I never saw a UFO either.

http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2005/MAB0503.htm

A taller wave than typical is not necessirally a problem, unless the watch is not paying attention. One simply slows or speeds to meet the changing environment. Storm seas are not well met by an auto-pilot and steady speeds.

get a ship "out of step" with the heavy swell and bury the bow (or the stern) and look out . . .

The statistics you cite are pretty sensational. More conservative estimates are that few, if any, ships have actually sunk due to rogue waves.

Since WWII, several cruise ships have encountered waves estimated to be 80 feet or more and survived more or less intact: Queen Mary, Michelangelo, Queen Elizabeth 2, Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Spirit, HAL Prinsendam.

You are far more likely to be hit by lightening.

 

Rotterdam encountered a huge wave about 7 or so years ago and while the ship was damaged and they endured a 'rocky ride', the ship rode it out and all survived. Some injuries, of course, but in the end repairs were made to persons and ship and she still safely sails. :)

 

Was this a TA crossing in the fall to the US? If so, I think my parents were aboard.

Yes, I had the misfortune of watching a show on the History Channel about a month ago. Why did I do that to myself? I had heard of these before but what they were saying on this show kind of freaked me out. But not enough that I booked a cruise for myself a couple weeks ago, lol!!

Thanks for the replies! So I am confused -- is this one or two huge waves that comes out of the blue during otherwise calm seas? In that case, I guess you just point the ship's bow to the wave and hope for the best?!

Or is it a number of larger waves that you have to try to navigate through, as if you were in a super bad storm? The Dawn's description implied weather related waves...

Katherine

if you research the most recent (or maybe most public) attack of such a wave on a cruise ship .... I do believe the NTSB report never uses this term. :o

 

years at sea ... can't say I saw one. 'course I never saw a UFO either.

 

http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2005/MAB0503.htm

 

A taller wave than typical is not necessirally a problem, unless the watch is not paying attention. One simply slows or speeds to meet the changing environment. Storm seas are not well met by an auto-pilot and steady speeds.

 

 

get a ship "out of step" with the heavy swell and bury the bow (or the stern) and look out . . .

Thank you for the great NTSB link of the Norwegian Dawn. It is interesting to read the description of "3 huge waves" and yet the conclusion just says "severe weather and heavy seas." Seems like you have to read between the lines? I find this topic fascinating (although I really don't want to watch the TV special you all are describing. I bet that's where my dad got all his info too...

I'd rather be "taken out" on a cruise ship by a monster wave, than at my desk by a monster boss!

Smooth Sailing! (and kath00, I really mean that!) :):):)

You need to stop watching "Poseidon Adventure".........

Don't know where your dad got the whole "ships disappear once a month", but if that were true, don't you think you would have heard such a thing? With today's cable news and their sensationalized journalism, they'd be talking about this daily. Don't fret over something that happens rarely, and most certainly not monthly.

Rotterdam encountered a huge wave about 7 or so years ago . .

Remember where ?

The original Queen Mary took a huge rogue over the bow/bridge early in her career in the north Atlantic, it peeled the fore deck like a sardine tin according to reports.

Watch for the program Killer Waves on the Discovery Channel, fascinating stuff, even shows two cruise ships smitten down near Antarctica:eek:

I spent a few years at sea and saw some huge seas but nothing you could call a true rogue (thank heavens).

Poseidon ?

But what most people don't know is that the film The Poseidon Adventure is based on an incident involving the Queen Mary in WWII. The famous liner was hit by a giant 'wall of water' while she was carrying 15,000 American troops to Britain in 1942. The ship listed to an astonishing 52 degrees and almost capsized.

For a large ship to survive a 52 degree list is amazing in itself.

http://deathwaves.com/ Hype website title but, at first glance, looks like good info.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_wave Scroll down to "Reported encounters".

Draupner wave (North Sea, 1995): The freak wave first confirmed with scientific evidence, it had a maximum height of 25.6 meters (84 ft).

Aleutian Ballad, (Bering Sea, 2005)

Footage of a rogue wave appears in an episode of Deadliest Catch. The wave cripples the vessel, causing the boat to tip onto its side. The boat manages to right itself; some of the crew suffer minor injuries. One of the only video recordings of a Rogue Wave.

(Ship is now an excursion in Ketchikan).

RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (North Atlantic, September 1995), wave 29 meters (95 ft), during Hurricane Luis in the North Atlantic.

The Master said it "came out of the darkness" and "looked like the White Cliffs of Dover." Newspaper reports at the time described the cruise liner as attempting to "surf" the near-vertical wave in order not to be sunk.

Reason to not cruise ? No.

Rogue waves are just another earthly phenomena that I don't spend a lot of time worrying about.....like earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and wild fires.

Thanks for the replies. I literally laughed out loud when my dad said "one every month" until I did the search and kept seeing the statistics. Over 200 ships lost in only 20 year's time....

You are right though. Living in CA, we talk and worry about Earthquakes (and wildfires in the Fall). I will add the rogue waves to my list of uncontrollable natural phenomena too.

Katherine

Sometimes I think the History Channel should be renamed the "We're All Going To Die Violently" channel. :D I now live in fear of being zapped by a gamma wave burst from a star thousands of light years away. :o

If you were to believe peoples' perceptions, we here in Oklahoma would be dodging tornados on a daily basis and being crushed by houses falling out of the sky (oh wait, that's Kansas :)). Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Deadliest Catch wave mentioned was not necessarily a rogue, although it was a bad storm. The boat was dangerously overloaded, and the crew were put in a position of extreme danger by their captain (who by my estimation was an idiot). There's ALWAYS more to the story. And I'm willing to bet that most of the ships reported as lost were fishing vessels that were either foolish or unlucky.

Was this a TA crossing in the fall to the US? If so, I think my parents were aboard.

Yes -- it was.

There have been a few mentioned on this very website. I know the Grand Princess hit one in November '08. She wasn't sunk, she was able to limp into Rome for repairs. Happened on the cruise after ours, Thank God!

There was another HAL ship down in South America that also hit a rogue wave. Not sure, but I think they returned to Tierra del Fuego (Sp)??? My memory isn't what it used to be.

Not sure if the "all up search" is working or not, but try it and see if it works for you. There are even some videos and photos of ships, during waves.

<i>I'm willing to bet that most of the ships reported as lost were fishing vessels </i>

You'd lose !

Thanks for the replies. I literally laughed out loud when my dad said "one every month" until I did the search and kept seeing the statistics. Over 200 ships lost in only 20 year's time....

 

You are right though. Living in CA, we talk and worry about Earthquakes (and wildfires in the Fall). I will add the rogue waves to my list of uncontrollable natural phenomena too.

 

Katherine

For someone who live in California, where one or more massive earthquakes every century is a virtual certainty, to be worried about a legendary rogue wave sinking a cruise ship is interesting. Life is full of dangers - does the fact that the occasional postal worker "loses it" keep you from using the US Mail?

Yesterday in Maine, near Arcadia National Park, 5 people were standing on a rock watching the ocean and the waves as Bill came by. A rogue wave came and swept the five out to sea. As of yesterday, I heard that 2 of the people were rescued.

Yesterday in Maine, near Arcadia National Park, 5 people were standing on a rock watching the ocean and the waves as Bill came by. A rogue wave came and swept the five out to sea. As of yesterday, I heard that 2 of the people were rescued.

As tragic as this event is, I don't think that a 20 foot wave can be categorized as a rogue wave.

Yesterday in Maine, near Arcadia National Park, 5 people were standing on a rock watching the ocean and the waves as Bill came by. A rogue wave came and swept the five out to sea. As of yesterday, I heard that 2 of the people were rescued.

There are signs all over Arcadia Park warning folks to stay off the rocks and away from the sea. Rough waves are a way of life all along that area (and many others up that way). In normal weather, it's not unusual to have an occasion rough wave...hence, the signs.

It wasn't a "rogue wave" that washed these poor folks away....it was simply one of the rougher waves being pushed ashore by the passing hurricane. That's not "rogue". Rogue refers to an unexpected large wave that generally is born in calmer seas.

In rough seas, you expect higher waves.

The fewer paranoid people taking cruises, the better for me anyway. Keep on scarin' yourself.