Wednesday, March 26, 2014

A fake happening can never be the real thing!

Here's an old fake scene of disastrous wave from the film "The Day After Tomorrow" which I have not seen and have no intention of seeing it.  I just happened to come across it while reading this article.


This scene is obviously fake, resulting from some of the Hollywood tricks no doubt. For the faint of hearts including grownups who tend to believe anything the modern lunatic media throw at them, this is down right frightening. But no matter what, a fake happening can never be the real thing!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Freaque squall blamed in Westmeath case!

They called it "freaque squall" in this case here, but it's the same freaque happenings nevertheless. Here's the article from Belfasttelegraph that gave the details:

By Adrian Rutherford – 22 March 2014 The angling tragedy which has left one man dead, a second missing and a third fighting for his life may have been caused by a freak squall.The men, all from Co Armagh, were on a fishing trip to Lough Ree in the Irish midlands when their boat capsized in bad weather.
Eyewitnesses described how a freak squall roared over the water shortly after the group set out.
The dead man has been named as construction worker David Warnock, who was 27 and from Richhill. His funeral will be held at Mullaghbrack Church of Ireland outside Markethill on Monday.
The missing man is Daryl Burke (30) from the Portadown area. A father-of-three, his wife is due to give birth to their fourth child in the next fortnight.
A third man, John Trimble (60), who is from Markethill, is critically ill in hospital.
They were part of a six-man expedition from the Portadown Pikers angling club who left Hodson Bay, in the south-west corner of Lough Ree, at 3pm on Thursday.
So it's "a freak squall roared over the water" kind. By the way the headline of this report is: "Freak squall blamed for Westmeath boat capsize that left one angler dead and another missing".  That seems pretty much tells the who story.  The term "squall" is now generally replaced by "meteoro tsunami" in academic circles, a special kind of freaque waves. I think the most important part of this report is the description "roared over the water"! Two things particularly characterize this case implied by the description: it made a loud sound and it came through a path, not the "appears out of the blue and disappears without a trace" kind.  But the roaring across the water is definitely an unexpected freaque wave!

Monday, March 10, 2014

A rescue after being swept off rocks by freak wave

One might say that this is just a simple rescue case. Of course nothing is simple. Every rescue case involves potentially life danger. Here's a news from Milford and West Wale Mecury :
Little and Broad Haven RNLI lifeboat was launched on Saturday (March 8) after reports of three teenagers in difficulty in the sea north of Broad Haven at Devils Bridge. 
Milford Haven Coastguard requested the launch of the Little and Broad Haven RNLI lifeboat after a call from a concerned teenager, stating his three friends were in difficulty in the sea. 
The incident happened after the four teenagers (two male, two female) had been sunbathing at Devils Bridge. One of the girls had been washed off the rocks by a freak wave.

After witnessing the girl struggling to make her way out of the water, two of the party jumped into the water whilst the other phoned 999. 
The volunteer lifeboat crew were quickly on scene and could see three people struggling to climb out of the sea and onto the rocks. 
There was quite a large swell at the time and the crew managed to quickly get into Devils Bridge and drop a crew member off to assess the casualties. 
After an examination, the crew decided to take the two girls straight to Broad Haven as medical attention was required. 
Broad Haven Coastguards who were on scene escorted the two other casualties straight to Broad Haven to be assessed by paramedics
So all's fine after all is done. It's all in a day's work. Thanks to and may God bless those brave volunteers!

Friday, March 07, 2014

Happened from a beach in Estoril

This Portugal news happened  yesterday:

Woman dies after freak wave washes her into Cascais sea

A 60-year-old woman who was swept into the sea by a freak wave from a beach in Estoril on Monday afternoon has died

The incident happened at around 3.40pm Sunday afternoon but by the time local rescue servicesarrived at the spot the woman had already been pulled alive from the rough sea by two locals after being knocked over by a wave and dragged into the water.
She was taken to Cascais hospital in a serious condition with signs of what was described as pre-drowning. But she did not survive the ordeal and died during the early hours of the next morning. 
This is the seventh death so far this winter relating to people drowning after being washed away by freak waves. 
However, the case where six university students drowned off Meco Beach near Sesimbra has attracted the attention of PJ police detectives. 
The students’ deaths were initially believed to have been a tragic accident caused after they were swept to sea by a freak wave, but the PJ’s summoning suggests suspicions that a crime may have occurred, with some sections of the media indicating the tragedy was the result of initiation rituals performed by students from the private Lusofona University.

Another case hard to contemplate. I was once in Estoril some 6 years ago. I strolled that beach a few times.  It was so calm and peaceful.  I remember thinking what if a freaque wave comes around, but it did not seem to be plausible.  It may not be the same stretch of beach I walked.  It is still hard to think that was what happened.  May God bless the victim and het family may she be RIP.
 

Tuesday, March 04, 2014

News from Goleta beach

This local TV news  video report tells a ferocious beach wave story happened at Goleta beach in California. There's an article written by Alys Martinez of KEYTNewsChannel 3 producer/reporter but I am not allowed to used any part of it. Anyway go visit the site and watch the video, it's worth watching! Note that they did use the term rogue wave in this report. Note also the article says restaurant employee swept out to sea in storm surge.  I am not certain that this is a case of storm surge. But the one that was swept out got stuck under the pier was able to get back safely with some injury is something good to hear! Deo Gratias!


Sunday, March 02, 2014

A captured happening at Santa Barbara, California

An article in dailycaller.com tells this story with video:

The scene was pretty epic at breakfast on Saturday at Moby Dick Restaurant in Santa Barbara, Calif. 
The restaurant is located quite literally right on the ocean. A winter storm in the entire Southern California region generated waves so strong that they shattered a picture window in the dining room, causing salt water to barrel in and customers to flee their seats. 
“Great front row seats for the much needed storm in our area,” wrote surfer Jill Freeland in a caption below the video she captured and posted on YouTube
Go visit the article where there's the video. Here's the rest of the story in the article: 

As the clip begins, a cell phone records what appears to be gradually-building surf. Seconds later, a wave heaves against the window glass, breaking it, and causing chaos—but well-managed chaos in a wonderful “keep-calm-and-carry-on” sense.

Another spectator who was on the scene told NBC Los Angeles that diners and the wait staff initially froze for a split second. Then, they quickly and efficiently gathered themselves and evacuated the dining area.
Amazingly, a city official told the NBC station that no one was hurt in the incident.
Moby Dick is one of a handful of restaurants on Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara. According to Yelp reviewers, the place usually lacks ambience “other than the view.” While the food is “overpriced,” the seafood is “fresh” and the clam chowder is “pretty darn good.”
City officials have since closed the whole waterfront area until further notice.
That's quite a dramatic video that was captured.Well worth to watch it.  This case even got into the networks' national news broadcast with a small part of the video as part of the weather story. Now this is one wave case that the words of freak, rogue, monster, or giant were not used. Instead they came up a new adjective: gnarly, uhmm, gnarly wave -- probably it will not get into  the scientific literature. What ever adjectives you choose to use, that unexpected wave broken through the restaurant picture window can be considered to be a freaque wave!




By the way, here's the youtube version of the video -- it all happened in only a couple of seconds, isn't that the usual real life happening of a freaque wave encounter?  

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Sunny sky isn't winter's end!

It's been a long and hard winter, as we are coming down to the last week of February, then March, Spring should be just around the corner now, right? Well, not so fast! The mlive.com this morning has an interesting artucle by Stephen Kloosterman that saying "Sunny sky this morning isn't winter's end":

MUSKEGON, MI – Take a peak outside – you won’t be disappointed.
You may have forgotten over the past winter months but the glowing orange thing is our sun. Don’t look at it too long.
Unfortunately,Saturday’s sunny morning is not forecast to be the end of the winter weather and the dangerous driving associated with it.
The Michigan State Police warn that roadways in the Muskegon County area are still wet and icy.
Temperatures Saturday, Feb. 22 are expected to top out at 30 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. A west-southwest wind will blow 18 to 20 miles per hour, with gusts as high as 29 mph.
Saturday night, skies will be partly cloudy, with a low temperature near 16 degrees. The wind will continue to blow, but without gusts.
On Sunday, skies will again be partly sunny, with a high temperature near 23 degrees, according to the weather service forecast. A west wind will blow 18 to 21 mph, with gusts up to 31 mph.
Starting Sunday night, there is a 40 percent chance of snow showers after 8 p.m. A west-northwest wind will blow 20-22 mph, with gusts again up to 30 mph.
There is a chance of snow every day from Monday through Wednesday next week, according to the National Weather Service.
Ugh! Winter sticks around a little longer yet! 

Can't wait for the daffodils in our front yard to blooming!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

'The Dismal Science'

I just read the book review in the Star Tribune by Tom Zelman on the book entitled "The Dismal Science" by Peter Mountford.  I am not aware of this book until now. The book title intrigues me.  It is a novel, not a book about science, but I am being tempted to try to get the book and read it at some point. The review particularly quoted a comment in the book:
“Everyone was afraid of rogue waves, flu pandemics, texting while driving. Everyone said what they thought and everyone was wrong. Even the people who said they didn’t know anything were wrong. … There was nothing left to say, no option left but to keep talking. And so they did.” 
Hmm,  can it be applied to the current state of science in general?  I have never thought of freaque waves are in the company of flu pandemics and texting while driving.  I still don't think they belong together. Is that what people think of freaque waves? 

What comes to my mind is the rest of the quote: "Everyone said what they thought and everyone was wrong. Even the people who said they didn’t know anything were wrong. … There was nothing left to say, no option left but to keep talking. And so they did. . ." might very well be a wild description of modern science, including the world of freaque waves studies.  

But being a scientist, even in retirement, it is still a little unsettling to see an adjective "dismal" applied to the noble word of "science".  Perhaps science is indeed dismal when some of the so-called scientists have to claim that they belong to a special group of "overwhelming numbers" with "like minded" on some conclusion. If that's what science is, it is downright dismal indeed!  Thank God, the study of freaque waves is not like that yet!!!

Peaceful Black Sea beach at Sochi


This is the week of 2014 Winter Olympics being held at Russia's Sochi on the shore of Black Sea. The above is a scenery of Black Sea Sochi sea shore, posted on Twitter by the USAToday sports columnist Christine Brennan @cbrennansport, with the Fisht Olympic Stadium in the background.

It looks like a nice, calm, quiet, peaceful, crisp, and even poetic morning there to take a strode on the beach.  I am not certain if there are any reported freaque waves happenings in those area.  If there are, there's clearly no one around to encounter it.  Did it ever happen? Why not?

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Happened at Milford-on-Sea, UK Hampshire

Here are two PA pictures captured from this Daily Star article yesterday by Tom Rawle with these headlines:


Army rescue stranded Valentine's Day diners as restaurant is hit by giant waves

ARMY troops were called in last night to rescue 32 people from the first floor of a restaurant that was hit by hurricane-force winds and huge waves.




That's about all that's what happening along with this details:
The couples were enjoying a love-filled Valentine's Day meal when storms blew out windows at the Marine Restaurant in Milford-on-Sea, Hampshire. 
Worried eaters were taken upstairs as waves pushed in to the restaurant 
Emergency services including coastguards, firefighters and the Army were called in to save the stranded lovers at around 10pm on Friday night. 
James McCrossan, a chef at the restaurant, said: "The wind was just smashing against the windows. It almost looked like the windows were bending 
"The outside of the windows started smashing. There was glass everywhere, it wasn't safe for anyone."It's like I never seen before and, touch wood, I hope never to see it again." 
The couples were eventually saved by six-wheel-drive Army vehicles as the sea began to submerge cars in the car park according to reports. 
Karen Bosman, from Lymington Coastguard, told BBC Breakfast said she had never seen weather like it before. 
She told BBC Breakfast: "When our coastguard got there, they were just making sure everybody was safe when the first-floor windows were also hit by a freak wave and shingle, and those windows were also stoved in by the weather. 
She added: "The sustained ferocity I have never seen in my experience. Last night we were getting gusts of 69 knots while this was occurring, and 69 knots is hurricane-force winds. 
"I have never seen that in the Solent before."
Needless to say, which may be an understatement, that was a memorable Valentine Day storm! Hard to believe that waves can get that far up to the restaurant location, but they certainly did!





Saturday, February 15, 2014

Freaque wave smashed into cruise ship Marco Polo

It is depressing to read this news item as this newser.com headline tells it all:




Freak Wave Kills Cruise Ship Passenger:
Passenger, 85, dies after wave hits ship in English Channel




Here's the story:
(Newser) – An 85-year-old man on a cruise ship in the English Channel was killed after what the ship's operator calls a "freak wave" smashed into the vessel, reports the BBC. Several others were injured, including a woman who was airlifted off the Marco Polo, operated by Cruise & Maritime Voyages. Witnesses say the wave struck early in the afternoon, with most of the injuries the result of shattered windows in the dining room, reports CNN. The ship was on its way back from a 42-day voyage to the Azores.

And here's a picture of the cruise ship Marco Polo:








Notice that we know that this is a case of freaque wave encounter is because the "ship's operator calls it"! As usual there's no details about the wave that smashed into the ship.  Clearly no one saw it coming. That's all. How did it happen? It just happened!!


On the other hand, I guess it is not hard to make sense on what was happening with this kind of UK Mirror headline: "Terror Storm Kills two as 85mph gales rip across Britain"!


These youtube videos: http://youtu.be/CmRYAqhf-pk and http://youtu.be/E1smv6jb9to can probably provide some insight on what was happening!




Here's another BBC picture of the cruise ship Marco Polo:

Luca Riva





Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Happened at Irish's Sheep's Head


According to Irishtrails: Sheep’s Head is the narrowest of the fingers of land that extend from the south west mainland of Ireland out into the Atlantic, between Bantry Bay and Dunmanus Bay. Hear's a picture from IrishTrails by Robert Shaw, showing a scenery on last Saturday:

This news from Herald.ie by Ralph Riegel  yesterday reports a tragic happening:
TWO friends are feared to have drowned when one apparently went to help the other after they were struck by freak waves and 130kph winds while walking along an exposed west Cork peninsula.
A major search operation off the Sheep's Head peninsula yesterday resulted in one body being recovered. The search for the second person is ongoing.
The men – named locally as Dutch national Roland Decker (32) and a 31-year-old German friend – flew into Cork last week from Amsterdam for a break in Kilcrohane village.
Mr Decker's mother owns a holiday property just outside the village. She spoke to them by phone on Saturday and learned of their plan to walk to a local lighthouse, where it is understood they hoped to take photos of the stormy seas.
Mrs Decker became concerned when she was unable to contact her son on Saturday evening and again on Sunday.
It is real heart aching to read story like this, it happened when they "plan to walk to a local lighthouse" to "take photos of the storm seas."  Isn't that something we all might wished to do at some point as a tourist ??? Our heart feels deeply for Mrs. Decker and other graving family members, may God bless their lost love one to rest in peace.

Saturday, February 08, 2014

Fishermen rescued after boat capsizes at Point Nepean

This news headline "Fishermen rescued after boat capsizes at Point Nepean" in the Melborne  Nerald Sun News today has seemingly familiar sounding that had happened before, but it is a new case:
A FISHERMAN was plucked from the water with serious injuries after being tossed into the sea when a freak wave caused his boat to capsize off Victoria's coast.
The 25-year-old Rowville man was rescued at Point Nepean by a passing crayfishing boat operator, who took him to Queenscliff where they met Water Police, this morning.
Officers administered first aid to him before he was flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
His friend, a 36-year-old Mornington man who was captain of the 4.5m tinny, was washed up on shore near Cheviot Beach at the tip of the Peninsula, with cuts and bruises.
He was winched to safety by the police Air Wing helicopter in a dramatic rescue about 9.40am, before being transported to Rosebud Hospital.
Victoria's Water Police have been busy in recent weeks with rescues as more fishermen and boaters take to the water amid the warmer weather. 
The article by Rebekah Cavanagh tells another boat capsize case for the record! Boats in the nearshore area are vulnerable for being capsized by waves, was it always caused by a freaque wave? No one really knows! This time it was specified by the news writer as by a freaque wave. Some time reporters choose to use a different term.  It's all some sort of nearshore waves, some large, some larger, are they freaque? Who knows? Since we don't have a firm definition, it's not even in the eyes of the beholder, it's just whatever the reporter feels like to call it! I guess the only thing that all cases have in common is it usually not anticipated by the victim when it happened.  The unexpectedness, some time may be just taken for granted, is all that figured or not figured in the uncertainty -- happens out there day in and day out. Facts of life? Science does not seem to be able to do anything tangible about it!!

Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Mountainous waves during storm at sea


Here's a picture I copied from the NOAAPhotolib, entitled "Mountainous waves during storm at sea", which is an art work with these details:

Image ID: libr0875, Treasures of the NOAA Library Collection
Photo Date: 1966 Circa
Credit: Artwork by Dr. Yuri V. Kurochkin, TINRO, Russia; Courtesy of Mrs. Yuri V. Kurochkin

Since this is an art work, it is not a photo, but it looks very real, a big thumb-up for the artist. I would put it in the same category as Hokusai!

Now compare this:

which I posted on Saturday, October 26, 2013, it is clearly that the real thing is indeed for real. I am not certain where this was taken or from where. A true mountainous wave which may or may not appeared out of nowhere. Just wish mariners may never encounter something like this!






























real!


Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Man swept to death by freaque wave in port of Ondarroa, Spain

When I first saw the title of this news from news.ninemsm.com.au:  "Man swept to death by freak wave", I thought that must be an old news.  But I was wrong, the news was posted online at 3:29pm January 29, 2014, and here's the synopsis:
A man swept to his death in Spain saw the wave that killed him for only a split-second before he was washed away, chilling video of his final moments reveals.
Please visit the news site to see the "chilling video" for details -- the waves in the video are truly frightening!

Here are some of the the detailed descriptions:
An unnamed 43-year-old Senegalese man was walking on the pier in the port of Ondarroa when he was caught out by a freak wave in stormy weather just before 11am local time on Tuesday, El Pais reports.
The man appears to be unaware of his danger as a wall of whitewater explodes over the top of the concrete pier, the video shows.
He then turns to run as tonnes of water come crashing down but it is too late.
Spain's Red Cross reportedly launched a rescue boat to save the victim from the raging seas but he was declared dead after CPR failed to revive him.
Another happening, another tragedy!  This one just appears to be unavoidable when all of a sudden  "a wall of whitewater explodes over the top of the concrete pier."  All kinds of things happen in nature, unexpected, unpredicted, as well as unprepared, it is just an act of nature caught people on the pier without warning.  It can happen any time, any place, somehow!

Update:

In this UK Dailymail article there're video and pictures of this tragic case showing the last moments of the man who seemed unaware of the danger he was in until it was too late! The article is entitled:
Caught on camera: Chilling moment man tried to flee wall of water which swept him to his death.
(Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2548341/Chilling-video-mans-final-moments-swept-ocean-freak-wave.html#ixzz39W7IF3GG).

Friday, January 24, 2014

Happened at UK Plymouth


Incredible as it may seem, another happening at UK Plymouth as reported in the Plymouth Herald:


AN ANGLER who is feared to have been swept out to sea by a freak wave has been described as a loving son, brother and uncle who will be sorely missed. 
Rescuers searching for Michael Bindon after he was swept off the rocks in Polzeath on Wednesday have called off a search operation and are now waiting to recover his body. 
The 23-year-old from Efford loved fishing and would often go several times a week.
So the happening seems following the similar script of "swept out to sea" from the rocks as shown in the picture. We know at least he was doing what he loves. May the beloved young angler rest in peace.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Westcountry's destructions by huge waves

I just came across this two-week old article from this UK news site that paints a devastating picture of damages caused by huge waves:
Towering waves which pounded the Westcountry yesterday have left trail of destruction, battering historic harbours and washing whole beaches away.
Some of the region’s tourist hotspots were left counting the cost after 30foot-high waves pummelled seafront businesses.
Gigantic waves swept away the balcony of a popular beach-side restaurant at Trevaunance Cove, near St Agnes.
At Porthmeor in St Ives, beach huts were wrecked and decking for the cafe overlooking the beach suffered substantial damage.
Meanwhile the beach at Whitsand Bay in South East Cornwall resembled a lunar landscape after its golden sands were swallowed by the storm.
The winds, whipped up by a powerful storm in the Atlantic, hit the Isles of Scilly first where harbourmaster Dale Clark described giant waves washing over the quay.
“A thick wall of water was washing over the entire quay. People on the islands were saying they had never seen anything like it,” he said.
Mr Clark witnessed the ferocity of the storm from his office on the quay as it was too dangerous to leave.
“The entire building was vibrating and shaking.
“You could hear the roar of the waves as they washed over the wall. The whole quay was just awash with breaking waves.”
The tempest had left the quay, a lifeline for the islanders, severely damaged, he said, and work was now under way to make it usable. At Portreath harbour, an iconic stone hut has been smashed to pieces by huge waves.
The century-old structure could not withstand the battering of the monster swell estimated to have reached more than 30 feet in height, with its full force felt after almost 100 tonnes of the harbour wall fell into the sea.
An iconic natural rock formation shaped like a giant doughnut was destroyed by freak 30ft waves at Porthcothan Bay, which is famed for its picture-postcard beach and caves, including a massive stone archway.
But the ferocious storms battered the beloved landmark and it collapsed into the sea.
Locals say their idyllic beach, nestled between Falmouth and Padstow on the North Cornwall coast, will never be the same.
Resident Tamsin Swindells, 39, said everyone was devastated by the loss of the stone archway, known locally as The Anchor or Jan Leverton’s Rock.
She said: “It’s just a pile of rocky rubble now – it looks like a demolition site. The beach just won’t be the same without it; it’s completely changed.”
The damage was not confined the coastline with hundreds of properties across the region succumbing to storm damage. More than 100 residents remain trapped in their village after floods have left all access roads under three feet of water.
Muchelney, which lies in between Taunton and Yeovil, has been cut off for four days after the roads flooded.
Residents can now only able to leave the village by boat – the water is so deep not even a tractor can make it through.
This article depicts an unbelievable horror happening entitled "Huge waves leave region coastline changed forever" was published in Jan. 7, 2014 issue of  Exeter Express and Echo by Lyn Barton and Toby Meyjes. the estimated 30' high waves is not particularly high from comparing with other possible large waves, but the devastation clearly much more extensive than many large waves can cause. The local residents are admirably reacted with reasonable calm, took it all in a stride.  What else can people react in a seemingly an act of God??? May God bless them from here on.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Happened on Sandinero beach, Santander, Spain


Here's a picture with a caption that states "One moment the woman is dancing on the beach and the next she is swept away by a giant wave". This not very clear picture was published in www.independent.co.uk news section this morning entitled "Dancing woman swept away by giant wave on Sandinero beach, Santander Spain". The title pretty much tells the whole story. The good news is that she's obviously fine, um, not seriously hurt. The article has this opening line:
Mother Nature soon proved her power to a woman who appeared to taunt an incoming wave with a series of hip-wiggling dance moves.
and this details:
The woman, who it is believed was not seriously hurt by her experiences, no doubt regretted delaying her exit from the Spanish beach. Bypassers watched as the tidal surge swept her off her feet at Sardinero Beach in Santander.
Her head is visible bobbing up and down along the waves as she is swept along the beach, with one passer by vainly offering her an umbrella. Despite the apparent gravity of the footage, she had a lucky escape and emerged from the water with just bruises, it is understood.
What can we learn from this story? Do NOT ever attempt to taunt Mother Nature's nature power, of course! If the same thing were happening all over again, anything can happen in a swept off, the dancing lady may not fare as lucky as this time again!

Wait! I just found another Metro article with more details and a video that has much better picture of the whole thing. Please go there and take a look at what had happened.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Happened in Malaysia coast


The above picture shows a calm, peaceful beach scenery near Georgetown on the west coast of Malaysia. But as the saying goes "Seeing can be deceiving" for here is what had happened that's reported in the Malay Mail with a title of "Woman drowned, 2 men still missing after overcome by huge waves":
GEORGE TOWN, Jan 18 — A woman drowned while two men are still missing when they were overcome by giant waves while bathing at Pantai Kerachut, Teluk Bahang here today. Southwest district police chief Supt Mohd Hatta Mohd Zain said in the incident at 4.17 pm, the three were among 24 workers of a factory in Prai, who had gone to the beach for a bath after participating in a character-building camp at Taman Negara Teluk Bahang. “Five were overcome by the huge waves but two, both women, were saved by members of the public; they are receiving treatment at the Penang hospital,” he told reporters here today.
What a tragedy when they simply "gone to the beach for a bath" and were overcame by a huge wave! Apparently the wave was unexpected and unpredicted. So a huge wave can come without notice even on a nice peaceful tourist beach!  Just looking at a picture like the above, one can hardly imagining a "huge wave" coming.  But it can happen!  Count our blessings when it did not happen when we are out there walking on a nice beach.  Never, ever, let your caution and guard down!

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Don't risk it - stay away!


 In the Scottish Arbroath Herald yesterday, they published the above picture and an article entitled "Don't risk it - stay away!":

Walkers and thrill seekers using coastal areas in Arbroath are being urged to take extra care in the recent stormy weather which has brought with it huge waves.
Winter storms, strong wind and exceptionally high tides have seen the local coastline take a battering with large waves, which are strong enough to pull people out to sea.
On Thursday, Danger Point at the Fit O’ The Toon was particularly bad hit but despite signs warning people to stay clear in bad conditions, it didn’t stop several youngsters from running towards the waves and playing dodge.
One concerned eye witness at Danger Point on Thursday said: “I was quite concerned to see a group of young teens put themselves at risk by jumping in and out the waves as they came to shore.
“There have been several deaths with innocent souls being swept away by the power of rogue waves in the past few days, across the  UK shoreline.
“There are clear warnings to people using the Point in stormy weather but can’t help worrying that one of these days an innocent game of dodge will result in a local youngster losing their life.
“It’s perhaps time for the local authorities to highlight this during these stormy times.”
The local RNLI crew had to brave the stormy conditions before Christmas when they were called out on a shout on December 23 in high seas to rescue a vessel in distress.
And an Arbroath RNLI spokesman explained: “The message we would like to put across is that the stormy conditions can be extremely dangerous and we would urge anyone going to the coast to take extra care accordingly. 
“In particular avoid exposed places where large waves could easily sweep you off your feet.
“In other parts of the country two people have tragically died recently in separate incidents having been swept out to sea. This sadly demonstrates just how dangerous these conditions can be.”
Meanwhile Ross Greenhill from the local HM Coastguard added: “HM Coastguard would like to remind the public that whilst the sea can be a spectacle it can also be extremely dangerous often with little warning.
“In the last few weeks there have been a number of deaths attributed to individuals who were too close to the waves during severe weather.
“The risk is not just being swept away by waves but is also what is in the water and being struck by this could lead to serious injury.
“Our officers along with lifeboat crews and firefighters have to risk their lives in order to protect you if you get into difficulty.”


There are some sound advises in there. I guess there are people who would not allow "fear" to interfere with there adventurous spirit until it is too late.  Regardless, sound advises are still very much welcome and needed, even it might fall on deaf ears.