Not trivia matter

Freaque wave happenings are clearly not trivia matters, but the following recorded event appeared in the Environment Canada's Weather Trivia Calendar according to this news item:

On. Aug. 31, 2008, several dozen people were enjoying a bonfire at Middle Cove Beach, Nfld. about 8:30 p.m. when a giant rogue wave out of nowhere blew them over. Helping each other from being carried out to sea, they rushed to safety on higher ground.

That just shows that freaque waves happen any places any time. If it does not get reported does not mean that it did not happen. Even it did get reported it might just get buried somewhere in the paper works someplace or even re-appear as trivia somehow.

Another encounter just encountered.

This has just happened a few hours ago according to Vineyard Gazette Online reported by Mike Seccombe:

Several people were injured and others suffered property losses when a high-speed ferry returning weekend tourists from Martha’s Vineyard to New York was disabled by a freak wave.

Passengers on the Seastreak evening service were sprayed with shards of glass when the wave detached a heavy metal box containing life jackets from the bow of the vessel and drove it into a front window.

The boat put into New London, Conn., where it was met by ambulances. Two passengers were treated for minor cuts and elected to continue the journey by another boat. One man required two stitches for a facial cut and later was driven to the city.

Several bicycles which had been stored on the bow also were damaged, and other passengers reported damage to electronic equipment, mainly cell phones, when seawater flooded in through the smashed front window.

Seastreak manager Mike Glasfeld said the boat was carrying just fewer than 300 passengers on the run, which left Oak Bluffs at 4 p.m.

Although the wind was blowing over 30 miles per hour at the time, he said the boat had following seas and winds.

“It was smooth running up to that wave and it was smooth after that wave. It was just one wave that created the mayhem,” he said.

The incident happened about three hours into the journey.

. . .

This is a rare reporting that includes good details on what had happened especially the comment that:

“It was smooth running up to that wave and it was smooth after that wave. It was just one wave that created the mayhem,”

This certainly casts off any doubt about whether or not a freaque wave was encountered. One seldomly able to secure such an explicit description. Luckily there were only relatively minor damages and injuries. But nevertheless a freaque wave was the likely culprit that caused the mishap.

A tragedy at the Outer Banks in North Carolina

Here's a tragic story, from dailypress.com, of beach going again, our deep sympathy and prayers go to the family:

The body of a 19-year-old Gloucester man was found after he went missing while swimming Wednesday at the Outer Banks in North Carolina.

Brian Mouring's body was found about 1 nautical mile from where he went missing while swimming near the Oregon Inlet, said Petty Officer 3rd Class David Marin, a spokesman with Coast Guard office in Portsmouth. Mouring's body was found by a park service ranger near a campground at Oregon Inlet.

"The body was found by park service rangers," Marin said. "We assisted with the search and were oncall if there was any other need for us but it was park service that recovered the body."

Mouring was camping with four friends at Oregon Inlet in the Outer Banks as their last hurrah of summer before they parted ways for school, said Mouring's grandfather, John Mouring. Just before heading home on Wednesday, they decided to take a final swim.

He was in water waist- to chest-deep near a friend when a freak wave larger than others suddenly reared up. Mouring's friend spied it in time to dive into the wave or under it. When he looked back for Brian Mouring, all he saw was foam.

"Brian may have been caught by surprise and slammed into the sand," John Mouring said. "We think he was rendered unconscious or couldn't help himself."

It is not an unfamiliar case. It was being called a freaque wave which may not necessarily be a very large one either. But the key that caused the tragedy was clearly the part that was "caught by surprise." One has to be on alert at all time. Never let the guard down. Don't ever be allow yourself be "caught by surprise."

Between a rock and a very wet place!

Here are two pictures published in an article by Matt Fortune in UK Dailymail today:

A man "had climbed over protective bars several feet further back from the edge in his pursuit of the ultimate wake-up call and was fortunate to survive as the area was engulfed by water." It was at Ben Buckler headland North Bondi Beach in Sydney. The author described the man as "brave but foolish" which is clearly an accurate statement no one would disagree. Even he was prepared, that was nevertheless a foollish thing to do. Thanks to the article for these two spectacular wave pictures!

A case in Lake Simcoe

This CTV news I just read happened last week:

A father and son ended up in hospital after a spectacular wipeout with their speedboat Sunday on Lake Simcoe.

York Regional Police said the 32-year-old son was discharged from hospital Sunday night while the 64-year-old father was kept overnight for observation.

They had been out on the popular recreational lake in a 14-metre-long Nortec speedboat, which is capable of reaching speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour.

Witnesses said the boat hit a rogue wave in Killarney Bay around 4:30 p.m., causing the boat to roll.

"The boat is like, cut in half," said Denise Carl as she videotaped the aftermath of the crash.

The good news is that after hospital stay, everyone is o.k. Too bad that there were videos showing the aftermath, but none was able to capture the freaque wave in action. Well, that's life!

Another close encounter, another shattered dream.

Here's another case which freaque wave shattered a sailing dream as Rory Reynolds of edinburghnews.scotsman.com reports:

A BRAVE dad-of-two has told of how he battled for eight hours hanging from his sailing boat in terrible sea conditions to carry out a vital repair and salvage his dream of completing a solo race across the Atlantic.

Scott Turner spent three years preparing for the six-week race but had to turn back just four days into his voyage.

The 43-year-old was forced to abandon the 3,300-mile Jester Challenge 2010 when a freak wave destroyed his steering column.

After spending hours hanging from the back of the boat attempting to fix the bent rudder, Scott was forced to turn back, undergoing a gruelling three-day trek home without sleep and bleeding from a headwound as he manually guided the 21ft cruiser back to Plymouth.

While we don't know where, when, how, or why of freaque waves, we do know it can do damage and destroy equipments wherever or whatever. When sailors out there encounter freaque waves, they are on their own. All kinds of beautiful theories, linear or nonlinear sciences can not provide any help with their plights.

An officially un-registered QE2 encounter.

I came across this post from this QE2 forum which I wondered into the other day:

Hi There,
anyone remember the freak wave of 89? This was during a transatlantic crossing, I was off duty in my cabin when at about 1 to 2 am it felt like somebody lifted the ship out of the water and dropped it!!! I ran into the corridor expecting to see water flooding in as I thought we had hit something. There was a second wave a few minutes later that further reduced my cabin to a shambles. One of the bridge officers told me next morning that there was little damage except for the disappearance of the 2 Ton foghorn on the bow....it was later found on top of the penthouse cabins.
A testimony to the seaworthiness of the QE2
Chris - Casino Slot Tech 1988 to 1991

This is clearly a freaque wave case encountered by the QE2 in her long history. May be because there was no damage or injury and it took place at 1 to 2 am, no one else seems to have even noticed the encounter. It is of interest that this one person, Casino Chris, noticed and remembered it many years later. This is one evident that this kind of unsung cases happen out there, not infrequently, with or without any one noticed or registered it's happening. Do we know what's really going on out there? Hardly!

Was it, or wasn't it, a freaque wave encounter there?

Here's a news reported in arabiansupplychain.com by Casey McFann today:

Officials are claiming that a freak wave was responsible for damaging a Japanese supertanker passing through the strategic Gulf shipping lane.

"We have contacted the ship. The cause of the incident was a freak wave and there is damage in the upper accommodation decks of the ship and a few injured people on board," said a general manager at the UAE port of Fujairah.

The ship is scheduled to arrive at Fujeirah port at 1300 GMT where it will be inspected before resuming its voyage to Japan, he said.

"The ship is not being tugged and there is no damage to the engine," he added.

"The boat was hit by a tremor ...we have no information of an attack," said an official at the Omani coastguard.

Iran's International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering reported that: "A minor earthquake of 3.4 magnitude happened in Bandar Abbas."

A similar report by Reuters quoted an UAE Port official as

"We have contacted the ship. The cause of the incident was a freak wave and there is damage in the upper accommodation decks of the ship and a few injured people on board," a general manager at the UAE port of Fujairah told Reuters.

However AP showing the following photo released by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines in Tokyo, Japan's shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines' tanker M. Star:


and that:

The Japanese shipping company said Wednesday, July 28, 2010, an explosion, suspected to be an attack, has damaged the oil tanker near the mouth of the Persian Gulf, causing one minor injury but did not cause an oil leak.

which curiously did not mention freaque wave encounter whatsoever. Financial Times, on the other hand, reported this:

A Japanese oil tanker was damaged on Wednesday by an explosion that may have been caused by an attack as it was travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway in the Gulf.

The Japanese transport ministry said the explosion on the M-Star occurred at the rear starboard side of the ship, adding that there was “a possibility it was caused by an outside attack”.

. . .

Mousa Murad, Fujairah port’s general manager, was quoted by the UAE’s news agency as saying the tanker was hit by a large wave caused by an earth tremor.

This is a confusing news reading case at best! In the age of all mainstream media have been willingly become political hacks, the once respected "journalist" has lost all their creditability, it should not be surprising that freaque waves can be potentially used as news manipulator. So we don't know if tanker M. Star had encountered freaque waves or not. Judging the credit of a news report is at your own risk. We'll report the definitive results if it can be ascertained. Stay toned!

Update:

Now here's latest Reuters through forexyard.com:

JAPAN SUPERTANKER CREW SAYS HIT FREAK WAVE, SOME UPPER DECK DAMA

JAPAN SUPERTANKER CREW SAYS HIT FREAK WAVE, SOME UPPER DECK DAMAGE-UAE PORT OFFICIAL

If the source is accurately reported as from the "crew" of the tanker then I would be inclined to think the crew knew what had happened and there was freaque wave encounter after all!

Rogue waves according to Abby

According to this Reuters article today, by Lucien Libert,

Teenage U.S. sailor Abigail Sunderland returned to dry land on Saturday after her rescue in the southern Indian Ocean this month, and defended herself from charges of being naive.

This 16 year old fully experienced sailor is clearly more mature for her age with a brilliant mind than many "grown-up" media and political types alike who's been criticizing her and her family for her adventure since her rescue. With her cool and calm and her super capability in coping with those devastating storms out in the South Indian Ocean, I would rather to see her be in charge of our country than a guy who can't even tell you where he was born.

At any rate, in talking to the reporters Abby said this:

" Rogue waves can happen at any time, any place, any age."

I put special emphasize on these words because that pretty much embodied our complete knowledge on freaque waves today! How many grown ups able to understand and utter such a simple fact?

I am also impressed with these comments:

"I would like to thank my family. They have put up with tons of stuff, helped me follow my dream. There has been a lot of extremely unfair and offensive criticism toward them," she said.

"They have been my greatest supporters. They've always supported me and they've helped me to follow my dream and encouraged me to think big all my life. And the criticism is ungrounded, it’s from people that don't know the facts."

That just reflects a wonderfully loving and strong family bound. Somehow I feel those people who overly critical of Abby and her family could just be out of envy. In our society today, there are those who considered themselves the elitist but could not accept the fact that happy families do exist in our world with or without their recognition.

We wish Abby God speed if she and her family choose to have her circumnavigate the globe alone nonstop once again at some point in time. Go for it!


P.S.

Here's another Abby's quote from her talking to the reporters which I think should be important as an eyewitness account for the understanding freaque waves:

The storm I was in did not roll my boat. I was hit by a rouge wave once the storm was already dying down.

Note that may be she can't tell us what exactly constitutes a freaque wave, but she had the keen observation that the freaque wave that ended her sailing had occurred not during the height of the storm but after the storm has been subsided! That was one case she encountered. No one can generalize from this. Her earlier statement that freaque waves can happen "any time, any place, any age!" still stands firmly. No amount of theoretical conjectures can alter that yet!

RMS Queen Mary encountered freaque wave

I noticed this story of RMS Queen Mary during WWII in Wikipedia:

In December 1942, the Queen Mary was carrying 16,082 American troops from New York to Great Britain, a standing record for the most passengers ever transported on one vessel. While 700 miles from Scotland during a gale, she was suddenly hit broadside by a rogue wave that may have reached a height of 28 metres (92 ft). An account of this crossing can be found in Walter Ford Carter's book, No Greater Sacrifice, No Greater Love. Carter's father, Dr. Norval Carter, part of the 110th Station Hospital on board at the time, wrote that at one point the Queen Mary"damned near capsized... One moment the top deck was at its usual height and then, swoom! Down, over, and forward she would pitch." It was calculated later that the ship tilted 52 degrees, and would have capsized had she rolled another 3 degrees.

So Queen Mary was "damned near capsized" but she did not! No large ship had ever really been capsized. I maintain that the Hollywood horror movie "Poseidon", which was known to have inspired by the Queen Mary case, unnecessarily scaring people with fictional non-facts. I would not recommend any one to see either versions of that movie.

Queen Mary is now a hotel somewhere. Here' an old picture of her:

It's a wonderful world after all!

Some update and reflection on the rescue of the young American sailor Abby Sunderland. I guess normal people will all share the exhilaration demonstrated by the balloons and the poster that says "Thank God, Abby's alive" outside the Sunderland home.

Here are the first words Abby sent out on her blog:

Hey everyone,
Sorry I haven't written in so long as you probably already know I had a pretty rough couple of days. I can't write much now as I am typing on a french key pad as well as trying to stay seated in a bouncy fishing boat.

The long and the short of it is, well, one long wave, and one short mast (short meaning two inch stub.) I'll write a more detailed blog later, just wanted to let every one know I am safe and sound on a great big fishing boat headed I am not exactly sure where.

What a remarkable young lady, what a great sailor! After her ordeal which we can all imagine what she might have went through, no hysteria, no complain, not angry or blaming anyone, she even maintain her wonderful sense of humor: the long and short of it is one long wave and one short mast! Yes indeed,thank God for allow us to be able to admire such a well ground young sailor. How many so-called "grownups" can truly behave like her?

Now here's a thank you note from Abby's parents and family:

We would like to give our immeasurable thanks to all of those involved in Abby's successful rescue. Especially to the authorities, both national and international, that have worked together to successfully conduct this rescue. These include MAMSA RCC Australia, Maritime RCC La Reunion, Qantas, WA Police, Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, Defence and the three ships which are responding. Their professionalism and the great value that they placed on Abby's life has been a gift to us that we can never repay. Thank you for caring for our daughter as if she were your own, for answering all of our many questions cheerfully and completely and for going above and beyond our wildest expectations to keep Abby safe. Thanks also to Congressman Elton Gallegly! Congressman Gallegly had offered his help to us some time ago. Thursday, when things looked bleak, a call to Congressman Gallegly resulted in his staff engaging three agencies in minutes. In less than 5 minutes the State Department, with location coordinates in hand, was in full swing with our country’s friends. Thank you Mr. Gallegly! Your concern for Abby is greatly appreciated.

We'll never hear the drive-by media-types tell us the details of this thank you note. No UN was involved, but all different countries cooperate so nice and smoothly to carry out this rescue so successfully. I have never heard of Congressman Elton Gallegly before. I an certain you will not either. The drive by media operative will make damn sure that congressman's name will never be mentioned with this successful, heart-warming rescue. You know why, of course! But despite all these cynicism, we are glad to recognize that this of our world is a wonderful world after all!

P.S.

There are still excessive noises in the media as this CSMonitor article asks whether "quests like hers wise?" mostly regards her young age. I think her father gave the most thoughtful answer to the critics:

“I don’t think age should be a criterion in this,” he said. “It should be the experience of the person and their level of expertise to undertake this.”

He added: “Abigail is a very competent sailor. She’s proven herself over and over again through this trip. This wasn’t the first time she had adverse conditions. She’d experienced over 50 knots of wind off the Falklands, rounding Cape Horn, and rounding Cape Good Hope. She’s been through trials and tribulations on the ocean and has overcome them.”

“This was one that was unfortunate that took the mast of the vessel,” he said. “And that’s got nothing to do with her sailing ability. It was an unfortunate thing that happened.”

I think whether the critics are out of good will or of jealousy, they should all shut up now and just enjoy this wonderful story of happy ending!

Sixteen year old Abby Sunderland's adventure

This is an en-heartening story no one is blaming it on freaque waves yet. Details remain to be unfolded. But what a difference in headlines a few hours in human time made. The news headline last night was depressing: for instance this, "Abby Sunderland feared lost at sea: Teenage solo circumnavigator lost in Indian Ocean":

Abby Sunderland, 16, is feared lost at sea today in her attempt to become the youngest sailor ever to circumnavigate the globe.

A support crew lost contact with Abby, who was in heavy seas in the Southern Indian Ocean, early this morning.

Sunderland's brother, Zac Sunderland, said his sister's boat was clearly in trouble.

That was pretty grim to read. But this morning comes this delightful one: "Breaking News: Abby Sunderland Found Alive and Safe at Sea!" Alleluia!

The AP is reporting that 16 year old Abby Sunderland has been found safe at sea and will be picked up by a nearby fishing vessel within hours and hopefully returned safely to land.

And here's the latest from Abby's parents on her blog:

We spoke with Abby early this morning and learned that she had had a very rough day with winds up to 60 knots and seas 20-25 feet. She had been knocked down several times but was handling things well. The wind had subsided to around 35 knots which she and Wild Eyes are quite comfortable with.

Thank God that all is well that ends well, the only drawback is that the 16 year old will probably not going to become any record holder. There are plenty of bickering regarding whether or not her parents should allow her do this in the first place. I for one would applaud their decision. Whatever outcomes may be, Abby will be a much stronger person than forever under parents' protection.

We can always imagine as a lonely sailor out there in the real ocean world, but I was particularly interested in reading the following 20/20's interview with Abby:

We asked what it was like to go for so long and not see any sign of civilization.

"I think it actually might be more fun if there was somebody else on board," Abby said. "But -- I'm happy to do it alone too."

We also asked her what was the toughest hit her boat had taken, and whether she got scared.

"I got hit by a rogue wave," she said. "I did get knocked down. ... I'd be happy if that didn't happen again."

I flipped through Abby's blog, but did not find the part that she encountered a freaque wave. I would be thrilled to hear more about the freaque wave Abby encountered. But I do think she's probably not able to tell us much more than that just happened! That's just the state of freaque waves today -- they just happened nothing much else is known!

Here's a picture of Abby in her boat Wild Eye outside Table Bay by Scott Lurie from Abby's blog.

And here's an Abby's picture on her boat. Can't you tell that she is a proudly American girl?


Here's the picture Abby took on June 5 which she calls it "The calm before the storm."

And here's her dis-masted Wild Eyes still in the South Indian Ocean as seen by the rescuers.

God's blessing be with Abby always and God speed in whatever she choose to do!

Freaque waves hit French Riviera

Here's a AFP photo of supposedly freaque waves breaking onto the Promenade des Anglais of Nice, France on May 4, 2010 as reported by France 24:

Freak waves battered the southern French coast between Cannes and Nice on Tuesday afternoon, causing major damage to beach constructions only a few days before the Cannes film festival is set to begin.

Ten-metre-high waves (33 feet) battered the coastline, leaving one woman with a fractured leg and causing major material damage."There were very big waves this afternoon that caused major material damage to beach constructions, but there were no disappearances," regional authorities told AFP.

In Cannes, some 20 restaurants were damaged and several cars overturned.

In Nice, not only the beaches were closed but also part of its famous Promenade des Anglais.

I was there once a few years ago. Luckily there was no ferocious waves like that then.

Tragedy at south end of New Zealand

This tragic case happened last Wednesday in the south end of New Zealand, according to 3news.co.nz:

Thu, 06 May 2010 7:25a.m.

A fishing trip turned to tragedy when a freak wave hit a small boat near Bluff yesterday, leaving one man shaken and cold atop the capsized vessel while his companion drowned.

The men were fishing off the east coat of Dog Island, 5km from Bluff Harbour, when the wave hit at about 2.30pm.

The 4.7m boat capsized and the men scrambled on top to stay afloat.

Passing fisherman John Dick spotted a man wearing a life jacket atop the capsized boat about three hours later and alerted emergency services.

"He was sitting up there and was in good spirits. I was absolutely surprised how good a condition he was in for the time he was on the boat," he told the Southland Times.

"He was pretty shaken and cold and was pretty worried about what I think was his father-in-law."

The survivor told Mr Dick that his 50-year-old companion had also climbed onto the boat after it was hit by a freak wave, but had decided to swim to Dog Island after he got cold and slipped off the boat.

Senior Sergeant Maggie Windle of Invercargill police said the man's body was found by a helicopter near Dog Island.

"The body has been recovered and the matter has been referred to the coroner," she said.

Bluff and Riverton Coastguard, five fishing vessels and two helicopters with night vision equipment were involved in the search.

The survivor was taken to Southland Hospital for observation.

We have no doubt that it was a freaque that capsized the small fishing boat. Here's a picture of the upturned boat being towed into Bluff Harbour after it capsized in Foveaux Strait.


What we really would like to know is more information about the freaque wave that the boat encountered. Unfortunately no one seems to be able to shed more information about the wave. It was hit by a wave. Was it a freaque wave or other kind of waves that caused the tragedy? Sadly that this is just another tragic case with no possible answer to the questions.

Jessica Watson News

I did not follow the news of Jessica Watson, the 16 years old sailor who is currently on a solo sail around the globe, very closely. Couriermail has this news report by Amanda Lulham today:

A ROGUE wave has knocked Jessica Watson's 34-footer over on its side for the sixth time as she nears the finish line of her round-the-world solo voyage.

The young Sunshine Coast sailor has repeatedly said the home stretch of her odyssey could prove the most treacherous. She is on high alert for the next 48 hours after she sailed into the first of three predicted storms yesterday.

Nine-metre waves are the biggest Watson has encountered. They are also as big as some of the waves encountered by sailors during the deadly 1998 Sydney to Hobart where a Bass Strait "bomb" in the form of a deep depression exploded and savaged the fleet, claiming the lives of six men.

An exhausted Watson managed to get word off her yacht yesterday to confirm both she and Ella's Pink Lady have survived the knockdown without major injury or damage.

She also reported the 35-knot winds she'd encountering had abated, as she continued towards Tasmania.

Jessica remains on course to achieve her dream of becoming the youngest person to sail round the world before her 17th birthday in late May.

"It's not going to be the easy sailing that I asked for," she wrote on her internet blog site last week.

It is estimated she has about 1500 nautical miles to sail to finish her solo trip.

I remember reading the news of her planning voyage and many warned her of the possible encountering with freaque waves. Obviously she's having her share more than anyone expected. Six probable freaque wave encounters already. According to dailytelegraph the first four encounters "came in quick succession in the Atlantic Ocean in late January, not long after she rounded Cape Horn." Now another on her home stretch. God speed, Jessica!

An encounter and rescue at Northland harbor

An encounter and dramatic rescue story in The Northern Advocate of New Zealand today that gave all the details of what had happened. From the detailed story it was clearly a freaque wave was encountered. As usual there was no more details about the wave condition at any rate. But all in all it's a successful rescue and happy ending. Alleluia! Here's the article filed by Kristin Edge and Peter de Graaf::

A crayfish boat hit by a rogue wave off a notorious Northland harbour took on 10 tonnes of water and almost sank- sparking a dramatic rescue.

The Waitara was heading out across the infamous Hokianga Bar when the 18.3m vessel was hit by what skipper Rob Saunders called "a rogue wave" about 10am yesterday.

The impact shattered five windows at the front of the cabin, ripped off spotlights and demolished a screen around the bridge.

The rush of water through the cabin blew out the rear windows and sent the vessel's radios and even the stove flying onto the deck.

Worse, the boat took on 10,000 litres - that's 10 tonnes - of water.

Worried family members gathered on Signal Station Rd on South Head, where they had a clear view as the drama unfolded.

Northland police Search and Rescue incident controller Spence Penney said the skipper did not make a distress call, but was concerned the boat had more water on board than its pumps could handle.

The Hokianga Coastguard rescue vessel took two portable pumps, three firefighters, an ambulance officer and a policeman out to the stricken fishing boat.

With high tide and swells hitting three metres around midday, it became urgent that the Waitara got back across the bar.

"With the outgoing tide and the wind blowing down the harbour it would have chopped up badly on the bar," Mr Penney said.

With 4000 litres of sea water still on board the skipper made the decision to cross the bar about 11.40am.

The Waitara was shadowed by the Northland Electricity Rescue Helicopter during the eight-minute crossing.

Pilot Steve Couchman said the vessel risked taking on more water, so the team was ready to winch the skipper and two young crewmen from the water.

"We had a winch operator ready and had a guy in a wetsuit just in case the crew had to abandon their boat," he said.

Omapere Fire Brigade senior station officer Graham Morris said without being pumped out first, the boat would not have made it back over the bar.

The forward cabin was filled with water up to the deck and the bow was so low the boat would have "scooped up" the next big wave.

Two firefighters went on board to operate the pumps, while another stayed on the Coastguard boat and Mr Morris parked the fire truck at South Head to run communications.

The crew suffered only minor scrapes, he said.

"The skipper was pretty stoic, pretty calm but the boys were a bit freaked out. There were a lot of hugs all round when they got to Opononi wharf."

Despite the heavy swell, Mr Saunders said the conditions were "just another day at the office".

"It must have been a rogue wave. She's been through much bigger waves than that."

The skipper's brother-in-law, Hokianga Express owner Peter Clark, was one of the first to be alerted. The Waitara's radios were wrecked but Mr Saunders managed to raise him on a cellphone.

Mr Clark said few people knew the bar better than his brother-in-law.

"It's a mean bit of water. You've got to respect it."

Owner Johnny Goodwin did not want to speculate about the accident while a Maritime New Zealand investigation was underway.

The greatest damage was to the vessel's electronics. An insurance assessor was expected to make a estimate of the costs today.

Here's the picture of the boat accompanied the article:

Life saving freaque wave!

Freaque wave aficionados can take some comfort from the following story from Australia's 9News (ninemsn):

A Sydney man who jumped from a notorious Sydney suicide spot has been saved by a freak wave.

The 45-year-old man plunged off The Gap at Sydney's Watsons Bay last night.

But a wave cushioned his fall and washed him back onto dry land almost unharmed.

Emergency rescue workers found the man with only minor injuries.

Helicopters winched the man to safety and took him to the Royal North Shore hospital for treatment.

The title of this report is "Freak wave saves man" -- so not all freaque waves are associate with destructive negatives. There is at least this one redeeming freaque wave story after all!

When freaque wave combined with rip current . . .

Perils for beach goers: freaque waves can be terrible to encounter, but when it is combined with rip current -- watch out!

Here's a depressing news from New Zealand:

Frantic rescue efforts by Northland beachgoers yesterday failed to save a man swept to his death in a strong rip after being knocked over by a rogue wave.

The 20-year-old Auckland man, a poor swimmer, was walking in shallow water with four mates at the normally safe Ngunguru Beach, about 24km north of Whangarei yesterday.

All five were knocked down by a rogue wave but the missing man was caught in a strong rip and carried out to sea, in what police called a freak and tragic accident.

Police searching for the man's body today said one of his four mates swam to his aid after he was spotted floundering in the surf.

The rescuer reached his friend, who was struggling to stay afloat, but they were separated by waves.

The missing man was believed to have panicked and may have pulled his rescuer under the surface.

"They were hit by a wave, he lost sight of him and that was the last they saw of him," said search controller, Senior Sergeant Cliff Metcalfe.He said the man and his four friends were doing nothing wrong.

"They were walking in the surf between knee and waist deep (water) and a rogue wave has knocked five of them over and the undertow has sucked him out through the waves."

Happy Easter

If not for the Resurrection, there could be no faith. It would be pointless to believe in a Lord still buried in a tomb.
"And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith." 1Cor 15:14

Pope Benedict XVI's homily

From Pope Benedict XVI's homily on Easter Virgil, April 3, 2010:

Indeed, the cure for death does exist. Christ is the tree of life, once more within our reach. If we remain close to him, then we have life. Hence, during this night of resurrection, with all our hearts we shall sing the alleluia, the song of joy that has no need of words. Hence, Paul can say to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil 4:4).

Joy cannot be commanded. It can only be given. The risen Lord gives us joy: true life. We are already held for ever in the love of the One to whom all power in heaven and on earth has been given (cf. Mt 28:18). In this way, confident of being heard, we make our own the Church’s Prayer over the Gifts from the liturgy of this night: Accept the prayers and offerings of your people. With your help may this Easter mystery of our redemption bring to perfection the saving work you have begun in us. Amen.