well-known amongst sailors; seen 60 footers meself. just cos some landlubber scientist hasn't seen em doesnt mean they dont exist. rather common in the Pacific, giant waves. that's what sank the Devonshire.

every sailing master knows that of you've got a giant wave heading towards you, turn your bows into it, then you can ride it. unf too big a ship might break its back on the crest.

im no sailor, but how are you gonna ride it (assuming you're in a big boat) if you're up against a huge wave that breaks? it ultimately falls on you.

if you turn into it, the wave travels under you while lifting you up, and should break over the bow, which it's meant to; the sooner you turn the better. Leave it too late and you wont be at 90deg to it (which is bad) and it will crash onto you (which is also bad)

If you cannot grasp why - grab a ruler.

Now - length ways - pick up the front and 'run" you and from the front to the back.

Now try it sideways and guess what happens.

i thought the devonshire was sunk as a target in 84

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MV Devonshire.

Edited by - Tawakalna on 7/23/2004 8:13:13 AM

I'd love to see a ship turn away from the wave and try to ride it!

That's why the super oil tankers stop at about 500K tons. Any larger and their length would cause too long a vessel for which they don't have the steel to withstand the stress. (Jahre Viking).

They did think about making a tanker that was hinged in the middle to accommodate even longer/larger ships .... don't think that idea took off though.

<Edit>
Corrected spelling of tanker's name.

Edited by - Indy11 on 7/23/2004 12:54:49 PM

...not to mention the fact that their turning circle would be ridiculous. You wouldn't be able to maneouvre them into any ports and you'd end up using smaller tankers anyway to get the cargo to the mainland!

..which is why so many big ships go down in these supposedley mysterious freak waves. By the time the dozey inexperienced crews in their cosy control cabins see the dam' wave bearing down on them, it's too late. The ships are so bulky and unmaneouvrable with huge turning circles of a couple of miles; by the time they've even begun to turn, the wave's on them.

Naval vessels being generally much smaller are generally a lot more manouvrable and can turn into waves and ride storms out.

These freak waves occur in mid-ocean far away from land (whichg of course breaks waves up) so the poor container ships get the full strength of the bore. Worst places are mid-Pacific and mid-Indian Ocean, huge expanses of water where there's lots of cargo traffic and storms can whip up incredibly quickly. Plus underwater seismic events produce these huge tsunamis which engulf anything in their path.

You wouldn't catch me on these rubbish cargo vessels, where the crew are usually peons from various third-world countries and don't speak the same language as each other or their officers. The virtual automation of cargo vessels means that by and by the traditional seamen's trade's have been largely de-skilled.

That's what Kharg Island in the PG is all about. An offshore loading facility to accommodate those super tankers... 250K to 500K tonnage.