A rescue off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador

This case happened over the weekend off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada as this Metronews article reports:

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - The owner of a fishing vessel that sank off Fogo Island, N.L., on the weekend blames the sinking on a rogue wave.

Alan Starkes of LaScie, N.L., was not on the Seafaring Legend at the time but says the four men who were had only about seven minutes from the time the wave hit to when the boat broke apart.

Maxwell Pittman, 53, of Elliston, N.L., could not get his survival suit on in time and lost his life in the incident.

Starkes says the vessel was carrying about 18,000 kilograms of shrimp, about half of its capacity.

He praised search and rescue officials for having a helicopeter on scene in about two hours.

Starkes says the skipper and the two crewmembers who did survive were very fortunate and must have had someone looking over them.

There's not much details about the freaque wave encountered as usual. But since there are three survivors, the case should be more than speculation. Especially the indication that they have only seven minutes for survival after encountered the freaque wave. Sadly we learned that the one that was lost was because he could not get his survival suit on in time.

The Canada's Air force site has this following picture

and detailed rescuing report by Jill St. Marseille:

103 Search and Rescue (SAR) Squadron from 9 Wing Gander was called to duty on October 23 when a satellite system picked up a distress beacon of a fishing vessel off the coast of Newfoundland.

Once on scene, approximately 65 miles (105 kilometres) north of Fogo Island or 100 miles (160 kilometres) north of Gander, the CH-149 Cormorant helicopter crew could not locate the vessel, the Seafaring Legend, as it had already gone under, so the crew then searched for a life raft. Despite unfavourable at-sea conditions, they found two.

“The winds were approximately 35 knots (65 km/h) and we assessed the sea state to be the equivalent to a sea state seven, which in general terms means 15 to 20 foot (4.5 to 6 meter) swells,” said Major Steve Reid, Aircraft Commander on the mission.

These kinds of conditions cause particular grief for search and rescue crews when searching for a life raft is involved.

“The wind and the sea state is what made it the most challenging. A life raft in the water can be challenging even when it’s dead calm with no wind so the sea state definitely added to the difficulty of performing the mission,” said Sergeant Morgan Biderman, a 103 Sqn search and rescue technician (SAR Tech).

The first life raft held one member of the Seafaring Legend. He was successfully hoisted off the life raft and into the helicopter and once inside he alerted the crew that there was a second life raft with two occupants on board. It was found, along with two other survivors of the sunken vessel. The second hoist caused more problems than the first one but, thanks to a highly efficient and adaptable team, a new approach to the situation was taken.

“The second was very difficult to maintain a hover because of the speed that the life raft was moving,” said Sergeant Kent Gulliford, SAR Tech. “We had no frame of reference for the pilot up front so they were flying ’blind’. The crew opted to switch to a technique where the flight engineer had limited control of the aircraft; as opposed to telling the pilots where to fly he actually had limited control with a joystick to move the aircraft, called ‘hover trim control’.

“[During such a procedure], the altitude remains the same, but the flight engineer can move the aircraft forward and back, left to right. He was not only hoisting me down vertically, he was also moving the aircraft simultaneous toward the life raft. Hats off to him for taking that much on. It’s something that the flight engineers are able to do and it amazes that they’re able to do that time and time again.”

Three of the four men aboard the vessel were safely rescued. The body of the fourth man aboard the Seafaring Legend was recovered and returned to shore.

I find the picture and the rescue report very informative and educational. Thanks to the 103 SAR team members for a job well done!

Reading I today

Behold, I will bring them back
from the land of the north;
I will gather them from the ends of the world,
with the blind and the lame in their midst,
the mothers and those with child;
they shall return as an immense throng.
They departed in tears,
but I will console them and guide them;
I will lead them to brooks of water,
on a level road, so that none shall stumble.

(Jer 31:8-9)

I Heard The Voice Of Jesus Say Hymn

I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down Thy head upon My breast."
I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting place, and He has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one, stoop down, and drink, and live."
I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in Him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, "I am this dark world's Light;
Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise, and all thy day be bright."
I looked to Jesus, and I found in Him my Star, my Sun;
And in that light of life I'll walk, till traveling days are done.

Avoid tragedy when visiting beaches

The Curry Coast Pilot of Brookings, Oregon published a very useful and timely article online today entitled "Avoid tragedy when visiting beaches":

As the first winter storms and accompanying large swells roll across the South Coast, we urge residents and visitors to exercise caution when visiting local beaches.

Experts have predicted several high tides the rest of this month which, combined with high seas, is a good reason to hit local beaches and do some wave watching and beachcombing.

It also means beach visitors should practice extreme caution while enjoying our wild, wonderful coast.

The resulting tidal surges – especially if accompanied by a strong storm – are dangerous for boaters and beachcombers, creating unpredictable, sharp-breaking waves that could claim a life.

So far, there have been no reports of people in Curry County being swept from the beach by waves. However, last year several people had close calls and a Crescent City man died when a wave swept him off a jetty there. High surf and dangerous beach conditions will remain a constant along our shore through spring.

If you visit the beach to witness the wave action yourself, please practice a little common sense. Sneaker waves can sweep people away in the blink of an eye.

Winter waves also pose a danger to recreational boaters. Rogue waves have been blamed for several fatal boat accidents in Curry County in recent years.

In many cases, the victims were not wearing life jackets, which would have increased the their chances of survival. It’s nearly impossible to find a life jacket and put one on after a boat has capsized or is swamped.

To help avoid tragedy, we offer the following tips when on or near the ocean:

Never turn your back on it. Stay off jetties or any low flat beach. Stay away from edges of cliffs, headlands and rocks where waves are breaking nearby. Never climb on driftwood, especially when waves are high.

The Oregon Coast is a beautiful place in winter. It’s also dangerous. Please be careful.

I added the above emphasizes. These super advices do not apply to Oregon coast only. All beach visitors should be fully aware these simple advices everywhere. Don't take anything for granted. It is so true that "Sneaker waves can sweep people away in the blink of an eye." There is no clear definition on sneaker waves, any wave can be one at the wrong place and the wrong time. Just be alert and beware!

Daredevil kayaker show

UK Daily Mail has an article with pictures that can really wake you up in the morning:

That was a 70 feet plunge into the icy waters below, and here's the intrepid kayaker, Luke Spencer, in person. All thumbs up for Luke!

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1221879/Pictured-Daredevil-kayaker-takes-70ft-plunge-icy-waters.html#ixzz0UaBqH0L8

The pictures were taken on

. . . taking advantage of a once-in-a-decade phenomenon at the Outlet Falls, in Washington State.

Swollen by freak warm weather that caused ice to melt high up in the Rocky Mountains, the Outlet Falls have long been a holy grail for danger-loving kayakers.

Usually just a modest trickle, the unusually warm Pacific weather caused the falls to crash into life for the first time in ten years.

The photopher is Jed Weingarten that photographed this feat, he said: 'Luke had to slide off a 20 foot high cliff just to get started on the 50 yard run up to the falls, it wasn't the most straightforward of jumps, that is for sure.' And

Crashing into the water, Luke's landing did not go according to plan.

'I separated my intercostal muscles that join my ribs together,' he explained.

He added: 'I got stuck in a bit of a roll at the bottom of the falls and had to wriggle free of my kayak.

'I was laid up for two weeks afterwards too.'

Ouch!

Admittedly I have not heard of the Outlet Falls of Washington. As indicated it's usually just a modest trickle, the unusual Pacific warm weather brought the fall to life. Hey there are warm weathers and there are cold weathers in our long climate history. That's called "natural variability" which the God instituted to make life interesting. Why should any one be alarmed by a little warming now and then to enable Luke to demonstrate his intrepid spirit. Global warming alarm freaks, eat your heart out!

Chien Tang River tidal bore II

Two years ago I first blogged about the Chien Tang River tidal bore. It has been known that every year on the 18th day of the 8th lunar month, the tidal bore at the Chien Tang River approaches the higerst strength. I found this frightening video that really takes the fun out of visiting it for some:



Now this following video report made a few days prior to that lunar 18th day/8th month date, which was already showing some spectacular surging waves. (If the Chinese reporting bothers you, please turn off the sound just watch what was happening out there.)



I found the Wikipedia actually provided a pretty good simple explanation on the formation of tidal bores:

Bores occur in relatively few locations worldwide, usually in areas with a large tidal range (typically more than 6 metres (20 ft) between high and low water), and where incoming tides are funneled into a shallow, narrowing river via a broad bay. The funnel-like shape not only increases the height of the tide, but it can also decrease the duration of the flood tide down to a point where the flood appears as a sudden increase in the water level.

Finally for my Chinese friends, I found the following classical style poetry from here by a contemporary poet in Taiwan which I think really successfully brought out the powerfulness of what we saw from the phenomenon:

天瀾憾海，涌波巒萬丈，濤峰千頃。
徹地懸空三百里，自古錢塘潮盛。
灘躍蛟龍，鯤鵬擊水，天鼓鳴金磬　
雷吞雲立，浪鞭天馬馳騁。

我自極目南疆，指天噓嘯，造化呈奇景。
他日修來擒龍技，揮棹弄潮東溟。
澌雨翻江，虬聲余耳，淘盡清秋影。
盱衡長嘆，胸中千浪誰省。

SS Atlantic

White Star Line is a prominent British shipping company famous for its ill-fated luxury flagship, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in 1912. But a not well known case of White Star Line 's SS Atlantic also had a disastrous end earlier in 1873. A recently published book "SS Atlantic: The White Star Line's First Disaster at Sea, by Greg Cochkanoff and Bob Chaulk, Goose Lane Editions, revisits this case. There's also an earlier 2006 book "Destiny's Voyage: SS Atlantic the Titanic of 1873" by Bob Love published by Authorhouse. Of particular notable to me about the case of SS Atlantic is the fact that the disaster of SS Atlantic was happened during a bad storm. Did they ever encountered a freaque wave? That was never been asked in 1873 and ever since. We can certainly assumed that they did not. But I just can't help think if that were happened today, the kind of blaming on freaque waves as an excuse will not be too far behind.

Here's a picture of SS Atlantic from here:


and an artist's rendition of SS Atlantic disaster from Currier and Ives:

From Reading II today

So let us confidently approach
the throne of grace
to receive mercy and
to find grace for timely help.
(Heb 4:16)

Freaque cloud

Have you ever seen a cloud like this in the sky? No? Neither have we. This was spotted last Wednesday (October 7, 2009) over Moscow according to this English Pravda article. They even have a video recording for it. Here's a Russian meteorologist's interpretation:

This is purely an optical effect, although it does look impressive. If you look closer, you can see sun rays coming through that cloud. Most likely, the sun was setting when the video was being made. If you observe clouds regularly, you may see many other astonishing things. Clouds of the same class may look absolutely different in different areas. Several fronts have been passing through Moscow recently, there was an intrusion of the Arctic air too, the sun was shining from the west – this is how the effect was produced.

As an amateur cloud watcher myself, I agree that there are many astonishing things in the sky and they are certainly do look different in different areas. One can always come up with plausible or otherwise explanations for the astonishing thing people see. But one thing can be quite certain is that they seldom repeat a peculiar appearance. In this day and age, one can always capture the freaque cloud things in the sky, whether or not there might be likely explanations but a handy digital or video camera can always be get set and ready to shoot!


P.S.

I think it's good that it was happened over Moscow. If it were happened over Washington D.C. you can be sure to hear that it was most definitely Obama's halo that got away and the photographer will be on Oprah in no time! Wait a minute, how could Obama lost his halo?

Happened in Pebbly Beach

It happened this time at the edge of Pebbly Beach, just north of Batemans Bay,South coast of NSW of Australia as reported by Sam Grovesand Louis Andrews in Canberra Times with the above picture:

A CANBERRA man was missing in high seas off the South Coast last night after an all-day rescue operation that saw swells play havoc with rescuers.

A marine rescue boat capsized around the headland from where the missing tourist was taken by a freak wave when trying to save another man.

Police believe the man had gone to the aid of a 22-year-old washed from the rocks along the edge of Pebbly Beach, just north of Batemans Bay, about 10.30am.

The search was suspended last night but was expected to resume at first light today. Inspector Gary Megay from the Far South Coast Local Area Command said four young people, believed to be in their teens or early 20s, were walking along the rocks when a wave dragged one into the sea.

''The man and his daughter went to try and rescue them, and the man was swept away by another wave,'' he said.

This is a sad story that happened to one man trying to save another man, who was found alive on a nearby beach. Later news from ABC News is not encouraging. Let's pray for a Pebbly Beach miracle. May the Almighty God bless and rescue this good man who's trying to rescue another!

Gospel and Wisdom

It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.
(Mark 10:25)

I prayed, and prudence was given me;
I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepter and throne,
and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,
nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;
because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,
and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,
and I chose to have her rather than the light,
because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.
Yet all good things together came to me in her company,
and countless riches at her hands.
(Wis 7:7-11)

Happy Birthday to ROC

Happy 98th Birthday to
Republic of China!

An encounter by Coast Guard vessel Anne Harvey

Station VOCM of Newfoundland and Labrador reported this encounter by the Coast Guard vessel Anne Harvey today:

More details are emerging on an incident involving the Coast Guard vessel Anne Harvey this morning. Two crewmen were rushed to hospital after what appeared to be a rogue wave slammed the vessel just outside the Narrows at about 3am. One man suffered a broken leg and ankle and will undergo surgery today while another was released after observation. The two others on the deck were unharmed. The Anne Harvey had just left the harbour en route to a disabled fishing vessel about 100 miles east of St.John's when Mother Nature intervened. They were positioning the anchor to a state of readiness when a wave washed overboard, slinging the men around. Coast Guard Captain Brian Penney says they were experiencing heavy sea and swell conditions at the time. He says winds were at 60 knots from the north-northeast.

CBC also reports that the Anne Harvey was responding to a call for help from a longliner when the incident happened. The ship resumed her assistance call after the injured crew members were safely removed from the boat. Here's a picture of Anne Harvey shown in the CBC article:

So it is again a reminder that freaque waves can happen anywhere, anytime, even to a vessel en route to a rescue mission. This is certainly the time of the year for rough waves, not necessarily freaque waves either. Thank God that there was no major mishap in this encounter.

Stories of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics

I got interested in the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for obvious reasons: the winner of 1/2 of the prize, Charles Kao, is of Chinese origin and I think I know his younger brother. But this super New York Times article told the background stories of all three winners and made their accomplishments easily understandable, even to me:

Fiber optic cables and lasers capable of sending pulses of light down them already existed when Dr. Kao started working on fiber optics. But at that time, the light pulses could travel only about 20 meters through the glass fibers before 99 percent of the light had dissipated. His goal was to extend the 20 meters to a kilometer. At the time, many researchers thought tiny imperfections, like holes or cracks in the fibers, were scattering the light.

In January 1966, Dr. Kao, then working at the Standard Telecommunication Laboratories in England, presented his findings. It was not the manufacturing of the fiber that was at fault, but rather that the ingredient for the fiber — the glass — was not pure enough. A purer glass made of fused quartz would be more transparent, allowing the light to pass more easily. In 1970, researchers at Corning Glass Works were able to produce an ultrapure optical fiber more than a half-mile long.

A news release from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where Dr. Kao worked as a professor and later a vice chancellor, quoted Dr. Kao’s reaction: “This is very, very unexpected. Fiber optics has changed the world of information so much in these last 40 years. It certainly is due to the fiber optical networks that the news has traveled so fast.”

According to the academy in its prize announcement, the optical cables in use today, if unraveled, would equal a fiber more than 600 million miles long.

Now the other 1/2 of the prize shared by Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith, for inventing the semiconductor sensor known as a charge-coupled device, or CCD.

In January 1966, Dr. Kao, then working at the Standard Telecommunication Laboratories in England, presented his findings. It was not the manufacturing of the fiber that was at fault, but rather that the ingredient for the fiber — the glass — was not pure enough. A purer glass made of fused quartz would be more transparent, allowing the light to pass more easily. In 1970, researchers at Corning Glass Works were able to produce an ultrapure optical fiber more than a half-mile long.

A news release from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where Dr. Kao worked as a professor and later a vice chancellor, quoted Dr. Kao’s reaction: “This is very, very unexpected. Fiber optics has changed the world of information so much in these last 40 years. It certainly is due to the fiber optical networks that the news has traveled so fast.”

According to the academy in its prize announcement, the optical cables in use today, if unraveled, would equal a fiber more than 600 million miles long.

In September 1969, Dr. Boyle and Dr. Smith, working at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, N.J., sketched out an idea on a blackboard in Dr. Boyle’s office. “He had a bigger office than me,” Dr. Smith recalled in a telephone interview. “The two of us frequently got together just to kick ideas around.”

Their idea takes advantage of the photoelectric effect, which was explained by Albert Einstein and won him the Nobel in 1921. When light hits a piece of silicon, it knocks out electrons. The brighter the light, the more electrons are knocked out.

The two were initially brainstorming how to make a new type of electronic memory. “But in my first notebook entry,” Dr. Smith said, “I fully described how we would use it as an imaging device as well.”

In a CCD, the knocked-out electrons are gathered in small wells, where they are counted — essentially one pixel of an image. The data from an array of CCDs can then be reconstructed as an image. The technology was intended for a picture phone but the project was canceled, and Dr. Boyle and Dr. Smith moved on to other research topics even as CCDs began to spread around the planet.

“We are the ones, I guess, that started this profusion of little small cameras working all over the world,” Dr. Boyle said. A 10-megapixel camera contains 10 million CCDs.

Besides consumer cameras, CCDs also made possible the cosmic panoramas from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Martian postcards taken by NASA landers.

Well, we all use internet and digital cameras daily without any hesitation, it's just part of our modern life now. It will not be the case without the ingenious contributions of these three scientists. They are certainly most deserving -- may be a little belated by about 40 years. Of course better late than never. They have all been amply honored in their life from many other sources. But a Nobel is still the brightest of them all!

Quick-thinking Samoans

The Sydney Morning Herald yesterday published a report on the comments made by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key upon his return from a visit to the tsunami devastated area of Samoa on Saturday. I found his remarks informative but not comforting.

It was informative because Mr. Key "said the earthquake that caused the tsunami shook the resort of Sinalei for about three minutes." And

"They had no advice about a tsunami but they noticed the waves and the water receding," he told a news conference.

"They immediately got people out of their fales (huts) to the extent where they actually knocked and then broke down the doors of some of them.

"They dragged those people up the hill and within minutes the resort was washed away.

"If they hadn't acted so quickly I think there would have been dozens more New Zealanders killed."

I can't quite find any comfort from these remarks because it is clear that all the modern science and technology have absolutely no use in these cases. The title of the SMH article is "Quick-thinking Samoans saved tourists"! Yes, indeed, not any of the sophisticated recording instruments around the oceans, not the all encompassing fancy models that all the government brasses like to show off, have any use during those critical three minutes. It was really the alert local Samoans noticing "the waves and water receding" and immediately starting their life saving operation that really did saved lives.

The good thing, if at all, is that we can reasonably assume that there are probably no ambulance chasers in Samoa and even American Samoa, so those clever "quick-thinking" samoans should not in anyway worry about possible law suits for dragged people out of their hut to safety before their hut was washed away.

Now perhaps the unsung question is whether or not the fancy models can be expected to recognize "wave and water receeding" and translate into life saving actions immediately also. How do the elite scientists that produced those fancy models think of the simple empirical "wave and water receeding" idea as compare to the deductions from Navier-Stokes equations?

Mid-Autumn Festival tragedy

This tragic story reported in the Standard of Hong Kong by Adele Wong on Monday, October 5, 2009:

An 18-year-old was missing and presumed drowned in the waters off Shek O last night, after a Mid-Autumn Festival party that went terribly wrong.

The man, Lo Siu-cheung, spent Saturday night at the beach with about a dozen friends and schoolmates to celebrate the festival and enjoy a barbecue. Early yesterday, after most had gone home, Lo tagged along when two remaining members of the group decided to have a dip around 7am.

A source said Lo did not know how to swim, and was paddling around clinging to a float. About 10 meters out, he got sucked under a wave and failed to surface.

It is really sad that an otherwise happy celebration the brightest full moon of Mid-Autumn Festival will end up a tragedy. It just can't be over-emphasized the perils of being on the beach. Ocean waves are not something that can be taken for granted. It was not even a freaque wave involved here.

St Paul's shipwreck in 60 AD near Malta

I was in Malta two weeks ago attending a meeting. According to Wikipedia, the Republic of Malta is a developed European country in the European Union, with about 300 square kilometers area over 400 thousands people, situated centrally in the Mediterranean Sea, 93 km south of Sicily (Italy) and 288 km north-east of Tunisia. Gibraltar is 1,826 km to the west and Alexandria 1,510 km to the east.

One of the historical aspects that interested me the most was that more than 1600 years before Christopher Columbus's adventures, around 60AD, St. Paul, the Apostle, had a shipwreck near Malta that was prominently recorded by St. Luke in Acts:27:28. (Older Bibles may use "Melita" but newer versions used Malta.) There's a bay in northeast shore of Malta called St.Paul's Bay. I did not have time to visit there. Pope Benedict XVI has announced to go to Malta to celebrate/commemorate 1950th year of St. Paul's shipwreck. Pope John Paul II visited Malta twice. Malta is a highly Catholic country. One taxi driver told me that Malta has only one Islam Mosque but more than 300 Catholic Churches. It's a pity the resort where we had the conference is in the middle of nowhere. I did not see any church nearby.

What most of the Malta travel lore did not seem to have alluded to is that the story of St Paul's shipwreck was actually painted by Nicolò Circignani, known as Pomarancio at the West Wall in the first floor of the Meridian Hall in Vatican.

With full view:


I found the detail about the paintings from here.

It has widely accepted that St Paul's shipwreck had been archaeologically substantiated. As the Acts 27 recorded, St Paul and companies battled severe storms for over 4 days. It is not known if they have ever encountered any freaque waves. They might have, there is no reason that they might not. But in the midst of continuous storms, no one can distinguish between storm waves and freaque waves, if they are there, anyway!

Gospel today of St. Francis of Assisi

At that time Jesus said in reply,

"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,

for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned

you have revealed them to the childlike.

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father.

No one knows the Son except the Father,

and no one knows the Father except the Son

and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am meek and humble of heart;

and you will find rest for your selves.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

(Matthew 11:25:30.)

Other Samoa tsunami surviving stories

Here's another heart warming story of surviving the Samoa tsunami reported in Telegraph:

A young British woman has described the terrifying moment waves smashed through her windscreen and water filled her car after she attempted to outrun the tsunami on Samoa.

Rachel Pooley, 27, was staying in the Taufau Resort in the village of Lalomanu on the southeastern coast, with her Samoan boyfriend when the earthquake struck just after dawn.

She said the tremor woke them but they thought the danger was over until locals warned them they needed to run for their lives.

"It was powerful but once it stopped everyone thought it was over," she said.

"My boyfriend went to brush his teeth. But then the kids in the bungalow next door to us were running up the beach screaming saying 'The water has gone, we have to go'."

Miss Pooley, from Hertford, ran to the shower block to alert her boyfriend, Tolu Taranaki, to the danger.

She said: "We jumped in the car thinking it was the quickest way out, but we got about five metres down the road before the first wave hit. I didn't even see it coming.

"The wave hit our car and the windscreen smashed. I was screaming 'We have got to get out' and water was coming in.

"I think we climbed into the back of the car and we were trying to smash the window. We were in the wave for about two to three minutes."

Mr Taranaki managed to smash a window and pull himself out of the car, but another surge struck before he could free his girlfriend.

"He had hold of my hand and as he got through the second wave must have hit and the car went down. I lost his hand and the car filled with water."

Miss Pooley, moved to Samoa to live with Mr Taranaki, 29, just six weeks before the tsunami hit, described her terror at being trapped alone in the sinking car.

"I was searching for air but there was none. I was gulping and gulping black water. I was smashing on the roof of the car, smashing everywhere, my face was all cut and smashed up.

"Then the car came up a tiny bit and I took half a breath. I was panicking, I was trying to get out, but then I gave up. I said to myself 'Rach, calm down. If this is it, you can't do anything'.

"I relaxed in the water and I said a prayer. I'm not religious, but I said 'Please let Tolu be alive. Please let me out of this car. We can't die like this'.

"Then two seconds later the back of the car came out of the wave. I saw daylight and scrambled through the window."

Miss Pooley, who suffered cuts to her face, arms and feet that would become infected from the putrid water, found Mr Taranaki clinging to a tree with deep gashes to his back and torso. Despite their injuries, the pair were able to get away from the coast to higher ground.

But the following moments were pure chaos, she said.

"We looked back and there was just nothing left. We saw children with nails stuck in their heads. Some kids were screaming for their dad 'Run dad, run', then this guy covered in blood and completely naked ran up the hill."

While most people were fleeing to higher ground, some locals were diving back into the churning water desperately searching for survivors.

"I heard local boys down in the sea, they were screaming for boats. Some of them were diving back in to get people. One boy rescued about five people on his own. I saw another man running uphill with a woman on his back."

Miss Pooley credits her survival to their split-second decision to jump into the car.

"We were lucky because we were in the car for so long when the waves were smashing us around.

The roofs of the bungalows are made of iron and when they collapsed all the iron was coming towards us. However terrible it was in the car, it saved our lives."

And also the story of this lucky British couple:

Anna and Christopher Griffiths, from Pembrokeshire, had planned a two-week holiday to Samoa as part of their joint 30th birthday celebrations.

Mr Griffiths, 30, said: "There were two huge waves coming right us. Two lines of white water absolutely powering at us. I could hear it after it crossed the reef. It was coming at such a speed." The couple, dressed only in their underwear, "just ran for our lives".

With the first surge of the wave at their feet, the couple sprinted for a sheer cliff that stood metres behind the bungalows.

"Chris got a little bit higher up than me and he was able to hold on to a tree and grab me but there was people behind who were not so lucky.

"We went higher and higher in case another one was coming. You could see it through the trees and you could hear it, there was swell still hitting and you could see it still swirling around."

Mrs Griffiths said she and her husband were among the last to make it out alive.

"I didn't look back any further because I didn't want to see what was down there. There were people down there in the water.

"It's unbelievable because there was so many people who I thought were running at the same speed as us, but we haven't seen them since.

"Someone must have been looking after me. St Christopher, perhaps."

It is wonderful to read lucky surviving stories. Of course there are many more heart-breaking tragic stories also. Let us pray for all the unlucky ones and thank the Lord for lucky ones. It is gratifying to see that Miss Pooley, not being religious, still managed to remember saying a prayer at the crisis moment. Praise be to God!

Surfers surviving Samoa tsunami

Two separate happy ending stories of surfer surviving the tsunami:

A 22 years old British surfer, Tom Gogola, was in Samoa for a three-week holiday when the island was hit by a 20 ft wall of water. As reported in Telegraph, he was surfing at the time and was confronted with the monster wave as it powered to shore,

Mr Gogola, of Kingsbridge, Devon, survived by paddling over the tidal wave.

Another New Zealand surfer, Chris Nel, and his fellow surfers used their skills to laid down their surfboard and rode the giant waves to safety as reported by Stephanie Rogers of Mother Nature Network. Here's Nel's description on what happened:

"All of a sudden the water went real weird, it kind of glassed off and got real lumpy, then we started moving real quick, getting sucked out to sea. It was pretty scary looking back and seeing the reef completely dried up. It looked like a volcanic riverbed — it was just gone."

We have seen before that surfers can help to save life with their surfboard. Now we know the surfboard can certainly be a safety device to save their own lives also.

Some Samoa Tsunami human stories

There have plenty of news reports about all aspects of the Samoa Tsunami disaster. Here are some real human stories that are somehow wave related -- not necessarily freaque waves, but they could be:

From TVNZ:

A two-year-old Auckland boy is missing and presumed dead after being swept away from his parents in the Samoan tsunami.

The child had been on a beach on Samoa's main island of Upolu when the 6m wave struck, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported.

His parents, who have yet to be named, swam to safety.

After being taken to hospital yesterday with minor injuries, the parents were discharged later and are staying at the New Zealand High Commission in Samoa.

The family were holidaying at a resort near the village of Lalomanu. Tsunami warnings were given, and the newspaper reported they were trying to escape to higher ground when the waves struck.

From the Australian:

THE husband of a woman killed in the Pacific tsunami has described the moment she was torn from his arms as the desperately pair clung for survival.

John and Maree Blacker were holidaying in Samoa to celebrate her 50th birthday when they were swept up in a huge wall of water in Samoa early yesterday morning.

The couple were in their room when the earthquake hit and ran to the carpark and held on to each other as the first wave came.

Mr Blacker, who survived the deluge, said his wife Maree was torn from his arms and drowned as the couple were swept up by a second wall of water.

The Tasmanian told The Hobart Mercury that the wave tossed him around, submerged him and pounded him with debris, for what seemed forever.

Mr Blacker, who cannot swim, said he found it impossible to believe he had survived.

Somehow he was able to anchor himself to a palm tree.

From brisbane times:

A Sunshine Coast couple are lucky to be alive after a tsunami swept through their luxurious Samoan boutique resort early yesterday morning.

Chris and Wendy Booth were forced to cling desperately to an outside handrail as water surged up through the floor of the Sea Breeze resort, smashing out the back door and throwing them outside.

"We managed to hang on to a handrail. My husband and I just hung on to each other and the handrail and then that one (wave) went, but the suck-out was tremendous," Wendy Booth told Fairfax Radio network.

"The force of the wave took furniture through the roof. The furniture was pushed with the ferocity of the wave through the ceiling."

An Australian reflection on Samoa tsunami

This superb article today by Deborah Smith, Science Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald gives something for all of us to contemplate. In particular:

Earthquakes and tsunami have long racked our region, and despite new technologies to detect them, some ancient wisdom needs to be revived to survive, say scientists.

Kevin McCue, president of the Australian Earthquake Engineering Society, said tsunami warning systems were useless in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

All residents and tourists to the South-West Pacific and South-East Asia needed to learn a simple message, that waiting for a phone or radio alert could be fatal. ''If you are near the sea and feel a large earthquake [that lasts longer than 30 seconds] then immediately make for a spot at least 10 metres above the high-water mark and wait there for several hours.''

Tony Leggett, of the Bureau of Meteorology, said people also needed to be aware that the tide did not always go out before a tsunami hit.

Tsunamis seemed more common because of better communications from remote areas. Fifty years ago, this week's devastation in Samoa might have gone unnoticed elsewhere, or been dismissed as the result of a ''freak wave'', he said.

While scientists had accurately predicted the spread of the Samoan tsunami, the science of determining which earthquakes would cause big waves was ''primitive'' compared with weather forecasting, he said.

This meant authorities were still erring on the side of caution in issuing tsunami alerts. The impact of giant waves, however, had grown due to population increases. ''And more people are living on the coast,'' he said.

I especially like the advice that "some ancient wisdom needs to be revived to survive." That really means rely on your own instinct rather than waiting for the expert "warnings'. Be alert at your surroundings and feel it rather than waiting and wishing on the data from the radio or computer. That applies to the surviving of freaque wave encounters also! Science and technology can help to some extent. But you are really on your own out there!

A happy ending story in Cardiff 25 years ago

This nice happy ending story was in the news about a week ago. The case was actually happened 25 years ago in the Cold Knap, Barry area of southwest England in Cardiff. Here's the story reported by Elinor Cross:

A WOMAN who was swept away by a freak wave at Barry’s Knap 25 years ago to the day wants to publicly thank the man who saved her.

with these details:

The dramatic sea rescue of 15-year-old Clare Savory was featured in the memories section of the Barry and District News earlier this month.
The paper described how asthma sufferer Ken Townsend stripped to his underwear and jumped in to save her – but Clare said the real story was far more harrowing.
Clare, now 41, said: "I was playing on the rocks when the wave knocked me in. All I remember is thinking that I was going to die."
Clare was unconscious when she was pulled from the water, as she had hit her head against rocks.
When she woke in hospital she was told that her heart had been injected with lifesaving drugs.

We must say that she's real lucky to be here with her head being hit against rocks. That was the source of many tragedies. Understandably she had a long and difficult recovery as:

Due to problems with her legs she had to learn to walk again, and said that it took years to rebuild her confidence.
"I had a lot of physical injuries which took a long time to recover from," said Clare.

Nevertheless she did recovered fully, she is "now married with a son and lives in Churchfields in the town."

How does she feel about it now? Here in her words:

"To see it in the paper again did bring it all back, but I was struck by how many stories I read where kids are still playing there.
"It is so dangerous."

Yes, it is so dangerous there and all the similar places around the world. Now of course she has not forget the hero that saved her:

"Seeing the story on the memories page made me realise that because of the man who rescued me, I am still here and have gone on to have a family," she added.
"Because I was shy and embarrassed at the time, I didn’t get a chance to thank him properly – so if he or his family are reading this, thank you so much."

We wish to add our heartfelt appreciation to the brave, heroic act also. That's what makes our world a great one, regardless what some of the crooked politicians trying to convince you otherwise.

Update 10/20/2009

Elinor Cross has a follow-up to her report: The brave hero, asthma sufferer Mr. Ken Townsend, has sadly past away. But his son Neil was also there that day participated in the rescue made the contact and reunited with Clare Savory. Here's how Neil remembers:

"We were fishing near a group of youngsters and the water was choppy, and then we noticed that you were in the water."

and

"We knew it was serious because Dad sent me to run for help because I was younger and fitter, but he was a better swimmer and went in looking for you."

“When I came back he was still looking for you – he went down one last time and caught you by your pony tail – you were spinning like a top."

and

"Dad was quite ill for weeks after, but I’m sure he would have agreed it was worth it."

It was all because of an unexpected freaque wave we don't know how and why it happen and neither do we know how to prevent it. Thank God for brave people like the father and son Townsend that made this happy ending story a reality. Mr. Ken Townsend, R.I.P., your bravery will always be remembered and appreciated.  Of course we'll be also thank Miss Elinor Cross for producing this superb heart warming story! 

Tragedy at Sai Kung beach, Hong Kong

Sai Kung is a part of Hong Kong's New Territory. According to this travel info Sai Kung embraces "much of the New Territories' eastern seaboard, Sai Kung district is one of Hong Kong's wildest district with sandy bays and big protected country parks."

Well even paradise on earth is clearly not free from freaque waves as this tragic news reported by Diana Lee in the Standard today:

A first-year university student is missing, presumed drowned, after being swamped by freak waves at a Sai Kung beach and dragged out to sea by a strong current.

Three other students washed away with him were able to swim to safety, though one received cuts to the legs when dashed against rocks.

Here's what had happened:

Cheung Tze-him, 21, and about 30 of his fellow students had been camping at Tai Long Sai Wan since Saturday afternoon.

At about 11.20am yesterday, 20 of them were walking along the shore when they were hit by two- to three-meter waves, dragged into the water and swept toward the rocky side of the bay.

One of his friends tried to hold on to Cheung but he was struck by another wave and not seen again.

His friend managed to make it back to the shore.

Two others, a young man and a woman, also managed to swim to safety with the help of onlookers.

Here's a picture I found online by Virtual Tourist for Sai Kung beach:

One would be thrilled to take a leisurely stroll on a beautiful sandy beach like this. But beware, in the midst of all the dreamy nature beauty, fresh air, peace and tranquility, never forget freaque waves are always lurking around the corner somewhere out there. Be careful, be very very careful!

Biggest wave in Australia?

This is undoubtedly a big wave, as reported in Couriermail.com.au today, headlined as the "biggest wave in Australia:

SUNSHINE Coast surfer Mark Visser has caught one of this year's biggest Australian waves.

Battling chaotic and gusty winds, along with rain, the big wave surfer rode a wave with a 36 foot face last Thursday.

The waves were surfed at Cowbombie, a break about 2.5km offshore from Western Australian suburb Grace Town.

"The weather was unbearable out there. It was very windy, around 30 knots," Visser said.

"Along with the wind, the water was icy cold. My feet ended up getting numb."

The Cowbombie break is gaining a reputation as one of the hot spots for big wave surfing, not only attracting Australian dare-devils.

Biggest or not, it is a very large wave at any rate!


Update 10/3/2009:

Here's a closer view of the same picture in news.com.au. The wave was identified as 11 m high monster and photographer was Calum MacAulay.

A psalm of David

The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart.
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The statutes of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
Ps 19:8-10

Laboratory model of freaque waves with microwaves

Over a week ago, the Economist magazine in its Science & Technology section published an article entitled "Monsters of the deep" that has these to say:

. . . Rogue waves seem to occur in deep water or where a number of physical factors such as strong winds and fast currents converge. This may have a focusing effect, which can cause a number of waves to join together. Such conditions exist along Africa’s wild coast, where strong winds blowing from the north-west interact with the swift and narrow Agulhas current flowing down the coast to produce enormous waves. Dr Heller, who likes to sail, says there may be other mechanisms at work too, including an interference effect that causes different ocean swells, travelling at different speeds, to add up to produce a rogue, and a non-linear effect in which a small change in something like wind direction or speed causes a disproportionately large wave.

To study the phenomenon the group created a platform measuring 26cm by 36cm on which they randomly placed around 60 small brass cones to mimic random eddies in ocean currents. When microwaves were beamed at the platform, the researchers found that hot spots (the microwave equivalent of rogue waves) appeared far more often than conventional wave theory would predict; they were between ten and 100 times more likely.

Dr Heller says the results tend to support anecdotal evidence from seamen that rogue waves are not as rare as once thought. He thinks the work could also be used to understand more about the formation of these dangerous waves, perhaps to the point where it would one day be possible to provide a warning in places where rogue waves may be prone to appear. Seafarers would be thankful for that.

This article reports the research of Eric Heller of Harvard University and Lev Kaplan of Tulane University using microwaves to create laboratory modeling which appears semi-plausible but has not received a lot of media attentions yet. Granted that other than actual measurements, freaque waves are impossible to model with any degree of conceivability. Heller at least did not purport to solve the case, only portend the production of some "anecdotal evidence." I applaud the works of Heller's group. I think they are doing research in the spirit of doing research, not eager to send snesational new releases for media attention!

Optics conjecture hits the sensational media

Here's a news release from the Australian National University:

The mystery of why there are ‘rogue waves’ on the world’s oceans is one step closer to being solved thanks to a team of optical scientists from ANU.

The team, led by Professor Nail Akhmediev of the ANU Optical Sciences Group, has been using mathematical concepts to try and shed light on rogue waves – one of the great mysteries of the deep sea. Until quite recently, rogue waves were regarded as fanciful sea tales where ships were engulfed by one-off waves with a massive wall of water. Recent studies from the European Union have shown that they do exist, and now the ANU team has shown how.

Although Professor Akmediev’s team are working to improve optical devices, it occurred to them that the mathematical equations they used in the field of non-linear optics could be applied to explaining rogue waves in the ocean.

“Waves on the ocean and light beams may seem like totally different things, but the underlying mathematics is almost exactly the same,” said Professor Akhmediev. “There’s no reason why models based on mathematical concepts like the nonlinear Schrodinger equation can’t work as well for water as they do for light and quantum wavefunctions.”

The solution the team have come up with to explain rogue waves sees two waves amplified by nonlinear effects occur at the same time purely by coincidence. This leads to further nonlinear behaviour, resulting first in a great hole appearing in the water, followed by a massive peaked wave many times higher than the average wave height in local conditions.

They hope that this discovery will help scientists to learn more about where these rogue waves might appear.

“There are so many variables that the behaviour of ocean waves is a highly chaotic system. So although there are conditions like bad weather and current flows that increase their probability, when and where they appear is largely just a matter of chance,” said Professor Akhmediev.

“But this doesn’t mean it’s hopeless. You never know what will happen in the future. Maybe now we understand what’s going on, one day it might be possible to predict or even disrupt such waves as they begin to form near ships.”

I have a few difficulties with some of the premises asserted therein. First of all, the opening sentence: "The mystery of why there are ‘rogue waves’ on the world’s oceans is one step closer to being solved . . . " which is a very nicely put statement, but I somehow doubt that it is even "close" let alone "closer." Because we are frankly have no idea what so ever where the freaque wave is right now other than a few academic conjectures. While freaque wave community has been using nonlinear Schrodinger equation as one conjecture that can generate something resembles freaque wave types, the same used in optics community. It is too far fetched that some new solution of the equations can really imply that's any closer to the understanding of ocean freaque waves. In our present hungry-for-sensationalism media, the ANU news release has already generated some sensational headlines. But from this humble observer, nothing is close so it can't be closer. We need real measurements and observations which is not at all available right now or in the foreseeable future. Optics may help to solve some equations, but it is by no means reflecting the real ocean out there at any rate. Conjectures over conjectures, speculations upon spectulations -- no matter how snesational it can be -- are absolutely of no help!

Psalm Today

O God, by your name save me.

By your strength defend my cause.

O God, hear my prayer.

Listen to the words of my mouth.

God is present as my helper;

the Lord sustains my life.

Ps 54: 3-4,6

Courage and survival

I have been away to attend a meeting. On my first day back from the trip, the Australian published this great inside story by Cameron Stewart: "How freak wave hit secret submarine mission of HMAS Farncomb." This wave and freaque wave story is so realistically good that it needs no further commentary and I have to copy the whole thing here for completeness. They could make a movie from this. I took the last two words used in the article for the title of this post here:

A FREAK wave in the dead of night triggered one of the most serious and sensitive accidents in the recent history of the Royal Australian Navy.

The rogue wave crashed into the side of the Collins Class submarine HMAS Farncomb, sweeping five crew members off the top of the boat and into stormy seas.

Those involved knew immediately this was no ordinary naval accident and that it would be no ordinary rescue. HMAS Farncomb was far from home on a covert intelligence-gathering mission in Asia.

What happened next has been held closely by the navy's top brass for more than two years.

Now the extraordinary tale of what unfolded on the night of March 19, 2007, can be told after the navy confirmed publicly it will award bravery medals to three of Farncomb's crew - the first such medals given to submariners in a generation.

The accident occurred during Farncomb's deployment in 2007 through Southeast Asia and the western Pacific.

Like many submarine missions, this five-month deployment was partly a chance to conduct joint training with the US navy in Guam, and partly an intelligence-gathering exercise where the submarine hugs foreign coastlines listening to communications, paying special attention to suspected regional terrorist networks.

Defence will not comment on Farncomb's precise location and activities at the time of the accident, although it says it took place in international waters.

The deployment was going well until Farncomb's sonar operators noticed that fishing lines had become entangled in the submarine's propeller.

"We could hear it through the sonar - it was a bit like a submarine dragging wedding bells," said Petty Officer Greg Langshaw, who was Farncomb's sonar supervisor. "Submarines try to remain stealthy, so dragging wedding bells behind you isn't part of that."

Farncomb could not continue to make such noise without risking detection, so the captain, Commander Mark Hammond, tried to shake the fishing lines off by changing the speeds and angles of the submarine. But still the line would not budge.

"So a decision was made to try to cut it off,' said Petty Officer Langshaw.

The operation to remove the fishing lines would require the submarine to surface at night to reduce the chance of detection.

In calm weather on a moonless night, the sub surfaced and opened its hatch, allowing a clearing party of five sailors to climb out, including two divers who would swim to the propeller and cut the fishing lines.

They started work, but the weather suddenly worsened, whipping up the ocean and tossing the submarine about.

Inside the boat, Petty Officer Langshaw could feel the change.

"We went from millpond conditions and in the space of no time the boat started rocking. Then I felt a big wave, and I said to the bloke next to me 'There goes the party'."

Petty Officer Langshaw was joking, but it was true.

Shortly before the wave hit, the line-clearing party had been ordered to abandon the operation because of the worsening weather. But as the five men walked back along the top of the sub towards the hatch, they were hit by the wall of water, throwing them into the ocean.

Cries of "Man overboard" echoed through Farncomb's PA system as the captain called for volunteers to rescue the men.

Petty Officer Langshaw, a 15-year veteran of submarines and the father of a baby girl, put his hand up.

As the rescue party was preparing to go outside, Commander Hammond was glued to the periscope, using night vision equipment to try to keep track of the five men being tossed around in the black ocean.

"As soon as we stepped out onto the casing (the top of the submarine) the first thing was self-preservation,' recalled Petty Officer Langshaw. "The waves were crashing over the sub, it was very choppy and there was a fair bit of wind."

Through the gloom, Petty Officer Langshaw could see the five men overboard had managed to swim to each other and tether themselves together, several hundred metres from the sub.

He ordered one of his crewmates, dressed in wetsuit and flippers and attached to the sub by a line, to swim out and bring back the men one by one.

"But he wasn't as strong a swimmer as we hoped,' said Petty Officer Langshaw. "He went out there but with rough seas he was out of breath too quickly. So we dragged him back on board using the lines."

Another volunteer, Leading Seaman Steven Rowell, then jumped into a wetsuit and dived into the ocean. He swam hard into the black night, towards the five men, and when he was within earshot he began teasing them about having fallen overboard.

Leading Seaman Rowell reached the group, put one of them in a harness and then swam his way back to the sub.

But when he got his mate back alongside the sub, the man was too spent to lift himself up on to the boat.

"He had full diving equipment on and he was very, very heavy and he had exhausted himself," said Petty Officer Langshaw.

"I looked down and thought I could make the job a bit easier if I removed his dive gear. So I jumped into the water and took his dive gear off."

As Petty Officer Langshaw was trying to undress his stricken crewmate, the sub was heaving up and down in the choppy seas. He was slammed against the side of the boat several times, breaking one of his ribs.

He and Leading Seaman Rowell eventually lifted their exhausted crewmate on to the sub, but the effort meant all three men were spent.

With four men still bobbing in the ocean, a new volunteer swimmer was needed.

Chief Petty Officer Rohan Pugh put up his hand. The 40-year-old Pugh was a veteran lifesaver and father of two from the coastal town of Secret Harbour, south of Perth.

Knowing time was running out for a safe rescue as the conditions worsened, Petty Officer Pugh did not bother with a wetsuit.

Instead, he put on his Speedos with Secret Harbour written on them, slipped on some fins, hopped out of the hatch and into the swirling ocean.

He said he didn't think twice about the risks.

"We're all mates plus we just go and do it," he said.

By this stage, the swell had risen to about two metres and the men had been in the water for more than an hour.

"The adrenaline was pumping," Petty Officer Pugh said.

"It was about a two-metre swell, very choppy and the wind was coming up. As I was swimming, I got mouthfuls of water - it was rough out there. It would have been a big day at Secret Harbour."

He battled through the swirling waves before eventually reaching the group.

"The first reaction I got from those guys was 'What are you doing here?' I told them I just felt like a swim."

Petty Officer Pugh grabbed the most exhausted member of the group and slowly swam him back towards the sub. But the waves were causing the boat to heave up and down by several metres with each wave, making it a dangerous job to lift the man back on board.

"That was an interesting task," he said. "We met the metal hull a couple of times, and we learned steel doesn't flex no matter how much you put your shoulder into it."

Petty Officer Pugh eventually got the man back on board and then swam back out to the last three. He placed a fixed line on one of the men and asked the crew members on the submarine to slowly reel in the line.

Those on the sub then threw a big cargo net over the side to help those still in the water to climb back on board safely.

Petty Officer Pugh grabbed the last two men and the three of them slowly kicked their way back to the sub. "It was hard work, it seemed to go on forever. The guys in the water were exhausted, but they were doing their bit."

Finally, the three men clambered back on board. The ordeal was over.

"I went back down into the sub and thought 'That was pretty interesting'," said Petty Officer Pugh. "I was shaking a bit, the adrenaline was still pumping, but everyone was happy."

The medics on board treated the men for bruises, but there were no serious injuries.

However, the captain ordered the submarine to go to the nearest friendly port to give his crew a break. Farncomb completed its mission, returning to Perth to tell its Boy's Own tale of courage and survival.

Swim to safety -- Happy ending, Alleluia!

This happy ending news from Australia NewsMail, reported by Clementine Norton:

A PEACEFUL Sunday morning fishing trip took a dangerous turn for a Bundaberg family, after their tinny capsized off Mon Repos — forcing a dad and his two sons to swim an estimated 500m for land.

The two adults and an 11-year-old were in the water for nearly two hours after being hit by a freak wave about 9.30am.

Father Danny Tavele said the 5m boat was hit by the "wrong wave", in what was otherwise a calm day on the seas.

"It hit us, and (the boat) just flipped," Mr Tavele said.

After clinging to their partly-submerged boat for an hour, Robert Tavele made the desperate decision to swim for shore with his dad Danny and younger brother Taki.

"It took us about 45 minutes to get there," Robert said.

"But it felt like a lot longer."

While they could not save their fishing gear, the men managed to rescue a mobile telephone that was kept in a waterproof plastic case.

After a lengthy swim, the exhausted trio made it to dry ground at Butchers Rock, north of Mon Repos, and telephoned home to report the accident.

Robert said 11-year-old Taki had coped remarkably well with the ordeal.

"He’s a little bit shocked, but he’s okay," he said.

Volunteer Marine Rescue duty skipper Bill Ker said the men were fortunate the weather was calm.

"I think they were lucky to come out of it unscathed," Mr Ker said.

"They would have had a good half-kilometre swim."

The telephone call home sparked a chain of alerts to emergency services, with Bundaberg Police alerting Volunteer Marine Rescue Bundaberg, and the AGL Action Rescue helicopter.

"We got the call from police and went out there, but by the time we arrived, they had practically swum to shore," AGL Action Rescue helicopter pilot Peter Marris said.

"They’d been in the water about two hours by that point, so we landed and had the paramedics check them out on shore."

Although all three shipwrecked men were wearing lifejackets, they were no protection against the cold.

The two men were fit and well, but young Taki was treated for hypothermia by the AGL Action Rescue helicopter paramedics.

Well as the comment that they were lucky because it's a calm day. But it was happened in a calm day. So here, again, it can happen anywhere and anytime!

Reading I

The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
He is near who upholds my right;
if anyone wishes to oppose me,
let us appear together.
Who disputes my right?
Let that man confront me.
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?

(Is 50:7-9)

Happened off Virginia coast

The local WVEC News repoted the following tonight:

OFF VIRGINIA BEACH – What’s being called a rogue wave struck a Norfolk-based ship off Va. Beach and injured four crewmembers.

It happened around 10:00 a.m. about 60 miles east of the Oceanfront.

Navy Times has this more detailed report:

Coast Guard helicopters rescued four civil service crew members from a fleet oiler Thursday after they were hurt when their ship was struck by a rogue wave off the East Coast.

The crewmen were standing on the deck of the oiler Kanawha as it prepared for a practice underway replenishment with the oiler Big Horn, said Susan Melow, a spokeswoman for Military Sealift Fleet Support Command. A rogue wave, tall enough to wash over the ship’s deck, knocked down the crew members, she said.

The ships were not linked by their fuel hoses or high-lines at the time. The Big Horn had no injuries, and neither ship reported any damage.

The Kanawha contacted Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads at 10 a.m. to report the injuries and ask for help, according to a Coast Guard announcement. So two MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters flew out to the ship and each took aboard two injured crew members. The Coast Guard flew the two more stable patients to Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and the other two, who were more badly injured, to Norfolk Sentara General Hospital, according to the Coast Guard.

Melow said their names were not being released, citing privacy regulations.

The Kanawha and the Big Horn are sibling Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet oilers, operated by Military Sealift Command with civilian crews and small Navy detachments.

It is certainly nothing new or rare that a freaque wave can be tall enough to wash over a ship's deck and knocking down whoever is on deck. This time there were injuries and need hospitalization for some. This news is unlikely to be spreaded worldwide. But it does show that freaque wave events are clearly of true "equal opportunity" type occurrence. It will strike large or small, military or civilian ships alike without any concern for color, creed, or national origin. All these and more doesn't even need a specially chosen Prosidential Czar to force its happenings. Karl Marx, eat your heart out!

Washed by freaque waves onto rocks

This tragic case happened at the Australia Sunshine Coast southeast of Queensland, north of Brisbane. There are various local news reports with varied details, this one from the Australian perhaps concisely summarized what had happened:

A MAN has died and two other men have been injured after a small boat was washed by freak waves onto rocks on the Sunshine Coast.

A police spokesman said officers received a call about 10.10am (AEST) today that an accident had occurred near Port Cartwright.

Three men were brought in to Buddina Pocket Beach by surf lifesavers.

Lifesavers and paramedics conducted CPR on one man but he died at the scene.

Two other men were taken to Nambour hospital in a stable condition.

Other reports indicate the deceased man was 78 years old, while the injured were his 45 year old son and their 53 year old friend. The Sunshine coast Daily reports that they "had been returning from a regular fishing trip that had started about 7am when the wave washed into the boat."

Happened in Manila Bay

Manila Bulletin has this news report today with a headline that pratically tells the whole story: "Couple drown in Manila Bay after giant sweeps them away at breakwater."

Breakwater certainly is not a safe place to take a stroll. No matter where it is located. Any time a wave can come up to engulf you and sweep you away. We don't know when, why, how, or where it will happen. But it will happen -- this time in Manila Bay.