Rogue Waves

[navybankerteacher]

Rogue waves do occur on the Great Lakes - all it takes to be a rogue is to be over twice the height of the mean (average) of the three closest. Accordingly, in a sea state of regular two foot seas, if one comes along at fifty inches (four feet two inches), it would be classified as a "rogue wave".

 

Of course, that is not too much of a peril - the height of the wave relative to the size of the ship - and the angle at which it strikes the ship - combine to make it a threat. The Edmund Fitzgerald was most likely hit by a rogue wave - which led to flooding of cargo compartments - perhaps because hatch covers were not properly secured - an additional factor was the damage to the hull - possibly stressed by being raised at bow and stern while the midships section hung, without any buoyancy, over a trough; alternatively she might have struck bottom, as there are a number of shallow areas in the lakes which become perils as ships ride down in troughs. The "Perfect Storm's" Andrea Gale - a seventy-some foot fishing boat (not a ship) was also finished by a wave - which might not have been a "rogue wave" - if it were simply big - and not more than twice the average - it would have just been a big wave, among many others.

[donaldsc]

A friend of mine was on a ship that was in the Mediterranean that was hit. Don't know which ship, however. It was not the one where 2 people were killed. I am sure of that.

 

DON

[BruceMuzz]

My ship was hit by an asteroid a few years ago.

Shortly after, some of the passengers were abducted by aliens.

 

By the way, over 500 Americans were killed by riding lawn mowers last year.

Thousands more were injured by the same insidious machines.

 

Now you have more things to stress over....................................

[Waynetor]

We had 2 in one night off the coast of Chile. The first was in the middle of the night and made a lot of noise waking just about everyone up. The second was around 7:30am. It caused a lot of damage in the buffet and dining room with broken glass and food trays being spilled. There was no warning. We did not hear of any injuries.

[CaveDiving]

Has anyone experienced a Rogue Wave while on a cruise ship? And how bad was it?

 

With all of this general discussion, I can say that we definitely have experienced a rogue wave. It was on the HAL ms Prinsendam rounding Cape Horn in Feb., 2007.

 

The Lido buffet was closed due to the severe rocking of the ship so lunch was being served to all in the main dining room. I need to tell you that it is really impressive when you are sitting in the seventh floor dining room and watching the approaching repeated waves by looking upward. And these were not the rogue waves.

 

There were then two rogue waves. As I recall the seas were around 30 – 40 feet swells and the waves were about 40 – 50 feet on top of that. The first wave hit the ship broadside on the starboard side and the ship rolled to port. Then, just as it was returning to an upright position, the second wave hit as if in resonance. We were told the ship listed between 20 and 25 degrees to port. The waves came over the 10th floor balconies. At least one of the large dining room windows shown in the picture was smashed inward with a significant rush of water.

 

Below are a few of the pictures from the incident. Also following is Karen’s description of the events, that was sent to our friends and family a few days later.

 

The excitement started that (Wednesday) night. The captain (“Hi there, it’s me....”) warned that the sea would be rough when we exited Beagle Channel and headed into the Atlantic for a trip around Isla de Cabo de Hornos (Cape Horn). That was obvious when we returned to our stateroom and discovered the steward had closed and sealed the porthole covers. They’re still sealed.

 

We awoke in the middle of the night to strong rocking motion, but being oldtime RV’ers, we just rolled over and went back to sleep. Then at 7 a.m. the captain announced we were just south of Cape Horn and would be turning due south towards Antarctica. He also suggested that we might want to stay in our cabins because walking about was difficult. That, and the fact that the pool had already self-emptied, ruled out the “Swim Around Cape Horn” activity scheduled for early in the pool area. Oh darn...

 

Later Thursday the cruise director announced that the lecture (“Overview of Antarctica”) schedule for 10 am would be broadcast to the rooms for those wishing to hear it. Also the shops would not be opening today, even though it was a sea day. Wise choice. We couldn’t walk from one side of the room to the other unless the swell was in the right direction. So we enjoyed the lecture from our warm and cozy bed. Twice people fell out of chairs in the lecture hall, reinforcing our decision to stay put.

 

By 12 we were dressed and ready for something to eat, so we made our way up to the formal dining room. We learned that the informal cafeteria on the 11th floor was closed because the wave motion was too severe. The formal room has two sections, only the smaller of which was usually in service for lunch. Today, because the upper cafeteria and the outdoor grill were closed, the little section of the formal room was filled. The chief steward announced one side of the big room was being opened and about 30 of us staggered in and fell onto the nearest chairs. Broken glassware and downed ice bucket/stand combos were everywhere, remains of damage suffered during Wed-Thurs night. They lost much of the glassware when they just stacked it for the night, as they usually do, at the waiters’ service stations throughout the room.

 

In his umpteenth voice-over of the day, the Captain announced the winds were 70 knots (making this technically a hurricane force storm, but not a hurricane because there was no eye) and the waves in excess of 45 feet high (Remember, that's 45’ from crest to midpoint, not crest to trough). No one disagreed. It was mesmerizing to sit and watch the sea in all its fury. At one point the waves started getting even higher, reaching way above our heads on the 7th floor. Then one rogue wave hit us so that we rolled severely (but never enough to compromise the vessel; later the captain said we listed 20-25° and the wave was about 60 ft.). Neither Scott nor I, nor any of the others at our table could hold onto the table, which was fixed into the floor. I felt myself sliding, in the chair, toward a railing separating the slightly raised interior of the dining room from its perimeter. Scott fell out of his chair and slid on his butt at my feet. I grabbed onto his arm with one of mine and with the other held onto the railing, waiting for the inevitable roll in the opposite direction. Then I just held on for dear life as the second wave hit us.

 

Now these passengers are really seasoned. No one yelled or cried out. They just went into survival mode until the rolling returned to its usual pattern. The table, which had been modestly set after we arrived, had self-emptied and most of the remaining glassware broke. Many of the foods, which were just starting to appear from the kitchen, were thrown to the ground. We picked ourselves up and the staff began triage - some, including a waiter, were injured, but not life-threateningly.

 

Of course the kitchen was a shambles. The waiter announced they would bring out anything that was still edible and we all just grabbed a plate of something and ate. Afterwards we sat in the 7th floor lounge and watched the storm…. Every staff member is out in his work clothes now, cleaning up. The piano, actually a huge keyboard, in the 7th floor lounge is upside down and Anthony, our musical director is on his knees lovingly trying to resurrect it. I would label it in “critical” condition. Many of the passengers have volunteered to help, but our help has been declined.

 

The captain (“Me again...”) came on shortly after the big roll and announced a course change to optimize our stability and so the rocking is back to its usual pre-roll condition. He also told us that we would be returning to Ushuaia because of some injuries. Our next four days were to be in remote Antarctic islands without services. Unfortunately the storm has stalled between us and Ushuaia, so the captain will decide later when to turn back.

 

I should point out that this is the norm for weather in this region. It’s a wonder that any of those 16th, 17th and 18th century explorers survived down here. But, I repeat, we are fine and the ship is fine, even if some of the interior suffered damage. I do not know the extent of the injuries requiring us to turn back, because the ones I saw were rather minor.

 

All in all it was a rather exciting event. And more interesting in that to my knowledge, there were no lawsuits against HAL. This says a great deal both for the maturity of the HAL cruisers as well as the proper actions of the excellently trained and prepared HAL crew.

 

By the way, we are looking forward to repeating this exact cruise circumnavigating South America on the ms Prinsendam this coming January. Hopefully, the rogue waves will not repeat.

 

Enough of my narration now.

 

Scott & Karen

Waves.pdf

Windows.pdf

Boutique.pdf

Chairs.pdf

Stairs.pdf

[karinad]

With all of this general discussion, I can say that we definitely have experienced a rogue wave. It was on the HAL ms Prinsendam rounding Cape Horn in Feb., 2007.

 

The Lido buffet was closed due to the severe rocking of the ship so lunch was being served to all in the main dining room. I need to tell you that it is really impressive when you are sitting in the seventh floor dining room and watching the approaching repeated waves by looking upward. And these were not the rogue waves.

 

There were then two rogue waves. As I recall the seas were around 30 – 40 feet swells and the waves were about 40 – 50 feet on top of that. The first wave hit the ship broadside on the starboard side and the ship rolled to port. Then, just as it was returning to an upright position, the second wave hit as if in resonance. We were told the ship listed between 20 and 25 degrees to port. The waves came over the 10th floor balconies. At least one of the large dining room windows shown in the picture was smashed inward with a significant rush of water.

 

Below are a few of the pictures from the incident. Also following is Karen’s description of the events, that was sent to our friends and family a few days later.

 

The excitement started that (Wednesday) night. The captain (“Hi there, it’s me....”) warned that the sea would be rough when we exited Beagle Channel and headed into the Atlantic for a trip around Isla de Cabo de Hornos (Cape Horn). That was obvious when we returned to our stateroom and discovered the steward had closed and sealed the porthole covers. They’re still sealed.

 

We awoke in the middle of the night to strong rocking motion, but being oldtime RV’ers, we just rolled over and went back to sleep. Then at 7 a.m. the captain announced we were just south of Cape Horn and would be turning due south towards Antarctica. He also suggested that we might want to stay in our cabins because walking about was difficult. That, and the fact that the pool had already self-emptied, ruled out the “Swim Around Cape Horn” activity scheduled for early in the pool area. Oh darn...

 

Later Thursday the cruise director announced that the lecture (“Overview of Antarctica”) schedule for 10 am would be broadcast to the rooms for those wishing to hear it. Also the shops would not be opening today, even though it was a sea day. Wise choice. We couldn’t walk from one side of the room to the other unless the swell was in the right direction. So we enjoyed the lecture from our warm and cozy bed. Twice people fell out of chairs in the lecture hall, reinforcing our decision to stay put.

 

By 12 we were dressed and ready for something to eat, so we made our way up to the formal dining room. We learned that the informal cafeteria on the 11th floor was closed because the wave motion was too severe. The formal room has two sections, only the smaller of which was usually in service for lunch. Today, because the upper cafeteria and the outdoor grill were closed, the little section of the formal room was filled. The chief steward announced one side of the big room was being opened and about 30 of us staggered in and fell onto the nearest chairs. Broken glassware and downed ice bucket/stand combos were everywhere, remains of damage suffered during Wed-Thurs night. They lost much of the glassware when they just stacked it for the night, as they usually do, at the waiters’ service stations throughout the room.

 

In his umpteenth voice-over of the day, the Captain announced the winds were 70 knots (making this technically a hurricane force storm, but not a hurricane because there was no eye) and the waves in excess of 45 feet high (Remember, that's 45’ from crest to midpoint, not crest to trough). No one disagreed. It was mesmerizing to sit and watch the sea in all its fury. At one point the waves started getting even higher, reaching way above our heads on the 7th floor. Then one rogue wave hit us so that we rolled severely (but never enough to compromise the vessel; later the captain said we listed 20-25° and the wave was about 60 ft.). Neither Scott nor I, nor any of the others at our table could hold onto the table, which was fixed into the floor. I felt myself sliding, in the chair, toward a railing separating the slightly raised interior of the dining room from its perimeter. Scott fell out of his chair and slid on his butt at my feet. I grabbed onto his arm with one of mine and with the other held onto the railing, waiting for the inevitable roll in the opposite direction. Then I just held on for dear life as the second wave hit us.

 

Now these passengers are really seasoned. No one yelled or cried out. They just went into survival mode until the rolling returned to its usual pattern. The table, which had been modestly set after we arrived, had self-emptied and most of the remaining glassware broke. Many of the foods, which were just starting to appear from the kitchen, were thrown to the ground. We picked ourselves up and the staff began triage - some, including a waiter, were injured, but not life-threateningly.

 

Of course the kitchen was a shambles. The waiter announced they would bring out anything that was still edible and we all just grabbed a plate of something and ate. Afterwards we sat in the 7th floor lounge and watched the storm…. Every staff member is out in his work clothes now, cleaning up. The piano, actually a huge keyboard, in the 7th floor lounge is upside down and Anthony, our musical director is on his knees lovingly trying to resurrect it. I would label it in “critical” condition. Many of the passengers have volunteered to help, but our help has been declined.

 

The captain (“Me again...”) came on shortly after the big roll and announced a course change to optimize our stability and so the rocking is back to its usual pre-roll condition. He also told us that we would be returning to Ushuaia because of some injuries. Our next four days were to be in remote Antarctic islands without services. Unfortunately the storm has stalled between us and Ushuaia, so the captain will decide later when to turn back.

 

I should point out that this is the norm for weather in this region. It’s a wonder that any of those 16th, 17th and 18th century explorers survived down here. But, I repeat, we are fine and the ship is fine, even if some of the interior suffered damage. I do not know the extent of the injuries requiring us to turn back, because the ones I saw were rather minor.

 

All in all it was a rather exciting event. And more interesting in that to my knowledge, there were no lawsuits against HAL. This says a great deal both for the maturity of the HAL cruisers as well as the proper actions of the excellently trained and prepared HAL crew.

 

By the way, we are looking forward to repeating this exact cruise circumnavigating South America on the ms Prinsendam this coming January. Hopefully, the rogue waves will not repeat.

 

Enough of my narration now.

 

Scott & Karen

Thanks for taking the time to share! That had to be a scary experience! I'm not sure that I'd ever get my dh back on a cruise if that ever happened to us. I can't get him to do a TA because of possible rough seas!

[lovesublime]

My ship was hit by an asteroid a few years ago.

Shortly after, some of the passengers were abducted by aliens.

 

By the way, over 500 Americans were killed by riding lawn mowers last year.

Thousands more were injured by the same insidious machines.

 

Now you have more things to stress over....................................

 

 

 

Not true. I found the real statistics from the University of Missouri. There are about 75 deaths per year from ALL types of lawn mowers.

[CruiseMore1]

Yep - middle of the night on our last night of the cruise - somewhere off the east Florida coast. It was a rude awakening - literally! I woke to a splash of cold water in the face - from the glass of water that was on DH's side of the bed! Saw lots of broken glass in the bars and shops the next morning.

[sparks1093]

Not true. I found the real statistics from the University of Missouri. There are about 75 deaths per year from ALL types of lawn mowers.

 

I think Bruce's post was completely tongue in cheek and was not to be taken literally or factually. I am pretty sure his point was that while rogue waves do occur they are very rare. (Or it could be that his ship was really hit by an asteroid...;).)