Monday, July 26, 2004

Glad I missed these Ship-Sinking Monster Waves Are Widespread -- ESA (Reuters). Reuters - Rogue waves that rise as high as 10-story buildings and can sink large ships are far more common than previously thought, imagery from European Space Agency (ESA) satellites has shown. [Yahoo! News - Science] In something like 80,000 miles of ocean sailing, I never saw any waves this big (80+ feet). But they do happen. In my younger days, I raced on a 61-footer named Sorcery. In 1976 (I wasn't on board then), on her way back to the west coast from Japan, Sorcery was rolled by a very large wave; owner Jake Wood swears it was 80 feet. It's a fascinating story, the short version of which is: capsized through 360 degrees, mast lost, deck gear lost, helmsperson overboard, everyone on board injured (but no one died), towed by Coast Guard cutter to Kodiak. During the tow, a window in the 200' long cutter's wheelhouse was broken by a wave. There's a lot about sailing that I miss, but not the big waves. 4:32:35 PM    Questions? Comments? Flames? []

© Copyright 2002-2005 Fred Sampson. Last update: 5/21/05; 10:22:53 PM.