Biri Island's spectaculay rock formations

I found the following breath-taking pictures from this article in GMA News authored by Aleen Estoquia entitled: "On Biri island, giant rocks that took my breath away."

Biri Island's sedimentary rock formations, eroded and shaped by millions of years of waves and currents.

Photos by Alvin Faustino

The author, halfway up one of Biri's famous rocks.

At the top, overlooking the ocean—but not too close to the edge.

Well, they took away my breath also!  These rocks are so unusual, they are truly stunning! I presume the young lady in the pictures is the author of this article.  My first question would be how did she got to thesoe positions in the first two pictures.  As she described in the article

. . .  we went up, crossed to the side facing the sea, and found ourselves looking down at the Pacific Ocean from a 300-meter drop. From up there, one can see the blue of the ocean brushing against the rugged shape of the rocks down below.

Seeing the view, I was reminded of the strong current and the big waves that I encountered on the boat on the way to the island. Millions of years of those waves and currents shaped the rocks like a miniature Grand Canyon.

We stayed far from the edge though. It was not my first time to be near a cliff or ravine, but it was a bit nerve-racking because there was a flock of seagulls at the top and they were swooping down on us, as if to attack us. We figured that the birds might have nests amongst the rocks.

Yea, indeed, I got nerve-racking just by looking at those pictures. I guess with 300 m drop, there is no concern of possibility of freaque waves can get up that high.  Anyway thanks to Miss Estoquia's writing and Mr. Faustino's photos, I am contented to just reading the article and looking at the pictures, as a septuagenarian, that's the extent of my adventure! 

By the way, for those of us who may heard Biri Island for the first time, here's Wikipedia's intro:

Biri is a 5th class municipality in the province of Northern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 8,700 people in 1,661 households. The island is famous for a large number of unusual rock formations in the northern shore, facing the San Bernardino Strait.

For the true adventurers, feel free to add Biri Island to your future destinations when you visit the Philippines.

A true story near Copper River

Here's a short article appeared in the Cordova Times of Alaska this morning.  It was its title "True Stories - Rogue Waves" that attracted me to take a look. It is a nice and concise one:

I have to add my thoughts on these rogue waves. For years, so-called scientists thought these were just seaman's tales to escape fault for losing a ship of getting it damaged. In general, the stories about them were not believed.

When this happened to me, and knowing I was to be in the court, I went to the tsunami center in Palmer, Alaska, to see about an earthquake. There had been no earthquakes for several days previous to my accident. Then I thought of underwater landslides that can cause a tsunami. But on reflection, my thoughts are, it might be possible to predict rogue waves in certain situations.

In this case there was a south-west swell, and a forty-five knot wind coming out of the Copper river. On top of that, there was an out-going tide from the Copper River, also opposing that swell. These conditions could have slowed up a south-west swell until several grouped together, one right behind the other and pushing each other. Thus the three waves, one behind the other, that hit me. The push behind the first wave is what increased its height, and the two that followed. So these conditions may be observed an in all probability a rogue wave predicted.

There was one great wave that almost sank the Queen Mary in World War II, with troops aboard. For some reason it was kept secret. Some claim this occurs in the ocean when the Gulf stream comes against the North Sea current. Other factors may be involved also.

Now this is interesting because the author, a fisherman, obviously had a personal experience of having encountered with a freaque wave, and even more interesting is that he really searched and researched on the cause for what he called he called his "accident", and developed a plausible interactive three wave theory for the wave that hit him.  The theory is certainly as good as any high-power scientist can provide.  Note that the author did not appeared to have much respect for the scientists when he used the expression "so-called scientists".  Unfortunately he did not gave much details on how, what, and when about his accident which he was end up "to be in the court" except it was near the Copper River.  But he really did try to figured the why on his own.  I'll have my two thumbs up for him!

Tourist tragedy happened on Baja California beach

Another big wave on a beach, another tragedy.  This just happened on Baja California beach as reported in huffingtonpost last night:

LOS CABOS, Mexico -- Authorities in Mexico say a giant wave has dragged off a U.S. couple walking on a Baja California beach, drowning the 72-year-old husband and injuring his 66-year-old wife.

Prosecutors say a navy boat found Ted Park's body two hours later in the ocean 800 yards from the spot where the wave hit the couple. The statement says Park's wife Shinae suffered respiratory problems after Wednesday's accident in Los Cabos.

The couple was visiting from Walnut Creek, California.

The U.S. consulate confirms that the man who died was a U.S. citizen.

Los Cabos at the southern tip of the Baja peninsula is a favorite vacation spot for Hollywood stars and thousands of other U.S. tourists who still venture to Mexican beaches despite the drug violence that plagues parts of the country.

Mr. Ted Park, R.I.P.

A wave for the rescue -- happened in Stornoway, Scotland

I find what had happened in this story today, as published in the Scottsmam.com, is unique and almost unbelievable:

By DALE MILLER

Published on Monday 17 September 2012 00:00

A 72-YEAR-OLD lone Scottish sailor swept overboard by a 30-ft wave off the country’s north-west coast said he was “lucky to be alive”.

Retiree Gerry Beard arrived safely back on dry land at Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, at about 3:30am yesterday after a harrowing rescue operation that lasted 14 hours.

He had been sailing home from Iceland’s capital Reykjavik to Shieldaig, in Wester Ross, to complete an 11-day journey when trouble struck in rough Atlantic waters about 40 miles north of the Butt of Lewis.

Mr Beard was attempting to open the hatch on his 29-ft yacht Meris when a giant wave struck, knocking him into the water and damaging the cabin door in the process.

Last night Mr Beard said he believed he had been over-prepared for the voyage but could have never predicted the severity of the conditions.

He said the waves that threatened his life had “come out of nowhere and engulfed the vessel,” leaving it half full of water.

He added: “I feel lucky to be alive.”

The experienced mariner, who escaped the incident without injury, was thrown back on board by another wave before activating his vessel’s emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB).

A seven-person Stornoway lifeboat team and a search-and-rescue helicopter responded to the distress call at about 1:30pm on Saturday.

The helicopter took an hour to reach the stricken vessel where its crew kept an eye on the sailor until the lifeboat arrived at about 5pm.

It took almost 11 hours for the waterlogged yacht to be towed back to Stornoway where Mr Beard will spend several days repairing his boat.

Stornoway Lifeboat Coxswain Murdo Campbell described the weather conditions as wild.

I am not certain if that's not a rare thing, the writer did not seemed to regard it as a big deal.  But I was struck by this paragraph:

The experienced mariner, who escaped the incident without injury, was thrown back on board by another wave before activating his vessel's emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB). 

He "was thrown back on board by another wave!"  That's not a big deal?  Waves routinely can swept people off board, that's not a surprise, but another wave thrown him back!?!  Of course it is entirely conceivable, one wave swept him out another wave thrown him back on to the boat.  What's the big deal? But did that ever have happened before?  I don't know the answer, no matter what, I said the happening is unique and unbelievable -- at least that should be rare happenings in my opinion -- rarer, much rarer, than any freaque wave happenings. The 72 years old sailor in this story, Mr. Beard, said  “I feel lucky to be alive.”  That's certainly not an under statement.  He should thank God, may be more closer, to thank his Guardian Angel for this rare happening.  Since this really has happened, I can only say I am very, very happy for Mr. Beard.  Hope every one being swept off the deck can expect to meet another wave, at the right place and right time, to throw the one back on board!

Swallow's Nest Castle in Yalta, Ukraine

This is not about freaque waves, I am just fascinated by this picture:

I found this picture from here. The photo was by Steve Raymer, it is the Swallow's Nest Castle in Ukraine as:

The neo-Gothic Swallow's Nest castle perches 130 feet (40 meters) above the Black Sea near Yalta in southern Ukraine. Built by a German noble in 1912, the flamboyant seaside residence now houses an Italian restaurant.

Castle over the sea is always romantic.  I once mixed Yalta with Malta in the Mediterranean when I attended a workshop in Malta. Now I think both are fascinating, Malta is a country in the Mediterranean south of Italy.  Yalta is a resort city in south Ukraine famous for the 1945 Yalta Conference during WWII.  Here's another view of the castle, a view from the sea by photographer  Kvinoz:

Note that 40 m above the sea is probably shields the castle from any possible freaque wave attack, since no waves on record can reach up that high yet!  But I would love to hear stories the castle might have witnessed during the stormy days!

A tragedy at Gladhouse Reservoir in Scotland

Here's a sad tragic story in Edinburgh Evening News from Scotland:

Published on Wednesday 12 September 2012 12:00

Angling manager Andrew Conlon was “an old school” fisherman who knew the stretch of water where he drowned “better than anyone”, a close friend has revealed.

Stuart Fraser, a local angling expert, said Mr Conlon, 56, from Dalkeith, was “an old school” fisherman who never wore a lifejacket.

Mr Conlon’s body ws found at Gladhouse Reservoir near Gorebridge, on Monday, along with that of his friend David Archibald, 59, also from Dalkeith.

Mr Fraser, a close friend of Mr Conlon’s, said: “He was a jovial, larger than life character who was very knowledgeable about fishing and he’ll be sorely missed,” he said.

“I knew him since when we were teenagers and we fished Gladhouse together many, many times. He was an old-school angler and never wore a lifejacket. Apart from that he’d never take a risk on the water. I can’t think what could have happened

“He was well aware of how quick the conditions can change and he knew everywhere to shelter in, maybe it was a medical problem.”

Police today continued their search for the boat that Mr Conlon and Mr Archibald were sailing in.

Mr Conlon was the fishing manager at the Midlothian reservoir, where he was in charge of safety and had the power to cancel trips he believed to be unsafe.

Police confirmed that neither man was wearing a lifejacket when their bodies were found shortly before 4am on Monday by an RAF helicopter.

Warning signs to fishermen beside the water state “a buoyancy aid must be worn at all times when on the water” and “Be prepared to change your plans or pack up early. There is always another day”.

Police chiefs believe the boat holds the “key” to explaining how the tragic accident happened.

Inspector Neil Simpson said that their boat may have been turned over by strong winds or currents, or may have sprung a leak.

Until post-mortems are carried out, officers are not ruling out a “medical” issue which may have led to one of the men falling overboard and the other trying to save him.

Insp Simpson added: “Our search officers have identified areas where they might have been fishing. Their bodies were found in the outlet of the reservoir that leads to the overspill Roseberry Reservoir but they could’ve floated for some distance.”

Mr Conlon’s family were too upset to talk, but Mr Archibald’s wife Heather paid tribute to her husband who worked as a technician at the University of Edinburgh.

“For more than 35 years David was a devoted and loving husband and father.

“He was always there for his family and friends and you would struggle to find anyone with a bad word to say about him.

“His death has left a massive hole in the lives of all of those who knew and loved him.”

Andrew Kirk, retired head gamekeeper from the Roseberry estate, said strong wind can hit the reservoir which is 900ft above sea level.

“The winds howl down the valley from the Moorfoot Hills and things can become quite dodgy all of a sudden,” he said.

Like most similar local cases this one involves a lot of unknowns without much details. May be there was never any freaque wave happenings in this reservoir, but one can not rule it out as also a possibility. Freaque waves can happen in any bodies of water, large or small! There are then this upsetting findings -- both victims were not wearing lifejacket and this old school fisherman never wore a lifejacket myth -- that nullified all his expertise and experiences. Merciful God, may they rest in peace!

Seychelles vessel sinks in a storm, crews rescued.

Today we have a report of good rescue news, reported by Dr. Wolfgang Thome, eTN Uganda | Sep 10, 2012 in the Global Travel Industrial News, boat sinks in a storm but crews are all successfully rescued!

VICTORIA, Seychelles (eTN) - In what has been termed a miraculous escape amongst the maritime fraternity on the Seychelles, was the three man crew of the ferry boat “Le Cerf” rescued after their vessel sank in a storm while returning to base in Mahe.

Owned by Mason’s Travel, one of the Seychelles leading DMC’s, the vessel was en route back from Denis Islands when it was struck by freak waves, damaging the hull and taking on water.

The experienced skipper sent an immediate SOS out which was picked up by the Seychelles coast guard, which dispatched a rescue mission immediately, but the crew was rescued by a Praslin based yacht, after being adrift for over 4 hours since abandoning their sinking vessel.

A source in Victoria attributed the rescue and safe return of the crew to the regular safety training and to presence of all required safety equipment like rafts, life vests and other items, that can help to survive a potential ship wreck.

It is always heartening to report a happy-ending news -- even though no detail information about the freaque wave caused this mishap as we would like to hear.  But a good news is a good news, keep it coming!!

Another view of wave actions during Typhoon Bolaven

Here's another picture (from NBC PhotoBlog) during the Typhoon Bolaven showing a car surrounded by water after its owner parked it on the bank to watch waves brought on by Bolaven in the city of Chingtao, in northeast of Shantong province of the mainland China, on August 28, 2012.

Hokusai meets Lava!

Found this site  for an article entitled "Lava Meets Water In Extreme Pictures From Hawaii (PHOTOS)" that's highlighted with a slide show of 4 fantastic pictures as they say of lava meets ocean waters.  The pictures were taken by

"Two daredevil photographers have risked their lives to become the first people to capture the explosive moment fiery lava crashes into the sea - while in the water themselves."

I am not allowed to copy these pictures.  So please go there and enjoy them yourself.  I am particularly like their No. 4 picture, which was shown to be the one ranked number one, which I think it may be more descriptively to call it "Hokusai meets Lava"! My salute hat tips overwhelmingly to the two photographers, they are called the Fearless Duo, Nick Selway and CJ Kale, as they were

"standing just feet away from scalding heat and floating lava bombs. Using a simple protective casing around their cameras, and donning just swimming shorts and flippers, they bob up and down with the water as the surf washes over their heads."

In the article there's also this:

". . . as Kale told the Daily Mail, the water is boiling only 20 feet away. Get hit by one rogue wave, and you're dead." 

Wow!


P.S.

That article and pictures were actually derived from this U.K. Daily Mail September 5, 2012 article where a lot more pictures included there.

Philippine boat overturns

This news was reported by the Oregon KTVL TV station :

2012-09-06T07:31:46

 KIDAPAWAN, Philippines (AP) -- Officials in the southern Philippines say an overcrowded passenger boat carrying mostly grade school students to a math contest has overturned. Three passengers died, two others were missing and more than a dozen were rescued.

 Police Superintendent Leo Ajero says waves generated by a passing vessel caused the motorboat to overturn along the Pulangi River in Kabacan town early Wednesday.

 Three bodies have been found. None of them were students, but one of the people missing is a student. Ajero says a search is continuing.

It was not immediately clear if the students who survived the accident continued their trip to the Kabacan school to compete in the contest.

This tragedy was caused by a wave that may be justified to be called a freaque wave.  In this case, unlike many other cases, we know where the wave was probably came from and why it had happened.  But still there is no way to prevent it.  The key point in this story is that  "waves generated by a passing vessel" as alluded by the Police Superintendent. There are studies, maybe far from sufficient,  regarding passing large vessels generated freaque like waves in nearshore area.  Unfortunately we may know the cause but at the present we are still not able to prevent something like this to happen. Pray for the three lost souls.

A freaque wave swept from the yacht

This news just posted from the Boston Globe:

Dr. Edmund B. ‘Ned’ Cabot, a retired surgeon and scion of a Boston Brahmin family, drowned Saturday off the coast of Newfoundland, when a rogue wave swept him from his yacht, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said today.

Cabot, 69, a lifelong sailor, was on the final leg of a journey he and friends had pursued over the past seven summers on his sloop, Cielita, that had taken them from Nova Scotia through Greenland, Iceland, and Scotland to the coast of Norway, said Peter B. Ellis, a friend of Cabot’s for 40 years.

Ellis said Cabot was sailing with two friends Saturday afternoon, about 200 miles from the end of their long journey, when a “rogue wave” struck the yacht and swept Cabot into the sea.

Whenever news of freaque waves happen, the news will always be bad, this one is no exception.  We have seen plenty of tragedies caused by swept from beach or shore.  This time the prominent doctor was being swept from his own yacht.  So this one happened in the open ocean during a long journey of familiar sailing adventure.  We wish to extend our heart feel condolence to Dr. Cabot's family and friends and may Dr. Cabot rest in peace!

Tragic drown happened off coast of Majorca

Metro News reporter just reported another tragic case this morning that happened yesterday off coast of Majorca:

According to local media reports the 28-year-old man dived into the waters off Cala Antena in the south-east of the Spanish island as his seven-year-old son was swept out by a freak wave.

Another swept out case by a freaque wave, another terrible tragedy for a family that lost theit young father and son.  Here are the details:

Sky News, quoting local media, said the man had been taking pictures of his son on rocks when he was struck by a large wave.

 

'It is a terrible tragedy. It appears the young boy was swept from the rocks by a large wave, and the dad naturally dived in to try to save him,' a police source said.

 

'The sea was ferocious with very strong waves crashing onto the rocks, and when it's like that those stairs are extremely dangerous.'

 

He added: 'The staircase really should be closed off when the weather is like that.'

 

The incident comes a fortnight after Briton Brian O'Dwyer, 66, died trying to save his granddaughter Lara Lewis, five, when she was hit by a freak wave in Portugal. [ See this blog here.]

 

Lara was swept away on the beach at Nazare while her parents Philip and Sian, from Hackney, east London, were sunbathing nearby, with rescue workers unable to revive her after spending around an hour trying to resuscitate her.

It's a heart aching news to read on a Sunday morning, we can only pray the Lord to grant mercy to the young father and son may they rest in peace and to the family that faces this grim undue tragedy.  Hope some day we can really prevent this kind of tragic happenings from ever happen again!

August 2012 Blue moom

The above is the picture of the full moon in SE Michigan I took last night. Because this is the second full moon this month, Ahgust 1st, 2012 was also a full moon, so the one last night  is known as the "blue moon" by the popular definition.