A forgotten 1942 Freaque wave/Meteotsunami case in Lake Erie

This is a rare find, from Google Search, a news on freaque waves of June 1, 1942!  It is here from The Pittsburg Press, published on "Monday, June 1, 1942"

in Page 6 with the headline:

It was reported by the United Press.  Of particular interest to note is that it was something already being called "Freak Wave" long before the term became academically popular decades later and it was also characterized by the now familar description -- "Giant wall of water"!   The essential of the report is this:

Cleveland, June 1 -- Scientists and weather observers agreed today that a sudden shift in wind was the probable cause of the giant wave which swept the Lake Erie shore line east and west of Cleveland early yesterday drawning at least seven persons and injuribng several more.

So the happening in Lake Erie near Cleveland, Ohio was on May 31, 1942 -- a case no one seemed to have remembered that it had happened.  When the famous Lake Michigan squal line case near Chicago happened in Junem26, 1954 with 8 fishermen drawned, there's clearly resembles to the Lake Erie case dozen years earlier, but no one ever made the connection.  They should all be the new topic of meteotsunami study.  But this one is a forgotten case!  Thanks to Google Search that by chance brought it to my attention. (Understandably 1942 was in the early stage of WWII, people clearly were less inclined to pay attention to some Lake Erie shore happenings, even with 7 lost souls.)  This was not the first case or another similiar meteotsunami case.  This one does provided some important information not alluded in other cases -- the sound effect!

One fisherman described the wave as an enormous black wall that blotted out everything and rushed in with a deep rolling rumble.  The only warning he said was a shrieking noise like a siren which preceeded the wave. (Emphasize added.)

I think not all similar cases will have this sound effect clearly noticed as this one here by the very observant fisherman in 1942.  But by all means sound effect shoud be also an element to be considered in the Freaque wave/Meteotsunami research!

Pray for the missing US schooner in South Pacific

This is the AFP file picture of a schooner posted in the South China Morning Post to accompany the following distressing news:

Searchers said on Thursday they have grave concerns for seven people aboard an American schooner that has been missing for three weeks between New Zealand and Australia.

Maritime New Zealand said on Thursday that searches by plane this week found no sign of the 70-foot (21-metre) wooden vessel named Nina, which was built in 1928.

Authorities say there are three American women and three American men aged between 17 and 73 on board. Also aboard is a British man, aged 35.

The boat left the Bay of Islands in northern New Zealand on May 29. Authorities say the last communication was on June 4, when the Nina was about 370 nautical miles west of New Zealand.

Steve Rendle, a spokesman for the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand, said authorities were first alerted to a potential problem on June 14, when they were contacted by concerned family members of the crew.

A storm that day saw winds gusting up to 110 kilometres (68 miles) per hour and waves of up to 8 metres (26 feet).

“Quite often when yachts are sailing around, they have their own arrangements when it comes to keeping in contact,” he said.

He said the boat had an emergency locator beacon aboard but it had not been activated.

Rendle said authorities began a communications search on June 14, which involved attempting to contact the boat through various radio frequencies as well as contacting other boats in the same area.

He said a New Zealand Air Force plane on Tuesday conducted a search around the area where the boat went missing. A second search by the plane on Wednesday went as far as the Australian coast but again turned up nothing.

He said he didn’t have an exact timetable for the boat’s trip, but that authorities would have expected it to have arrived in Australia by this week.

So intense prayers are in order for the safety of the 7 people on board. May God's mercy and blessing to bring them safe sailing.

Meteotsunami hits New Jersey Barnegat Light

This story was published in the evening of The Morning Call of the "Lehigh Valley's First Source for News" of June 25, 2013 written by Peter Hall with the title of "Freak Jersey shore wave being called a tsunami."   The article reports a firsthand account of the tsunami-like wave from Brian Cohen, who was spear-fishing in the inlet when the wave hit.

Cohen said the tide going out through the inlet suddenly became stronger about 3:30 p.m., carrying divers over a submerged breakwater and eventually exposing rocks in the structure that are normally 3to 4 feet underwater. 

The strong current out to sea continued for one or two minutes, and Cohen backed his boat away from the breakwater to avoid being pulled over it, according to the tsunami warning center. 

Cohen then noticed a large wave 6 feet tall from trough to peak spanning the mouth of the inlet. The current reversed direction, causing a surge of sea water into the inlet that washed divers back over the breakwater.

One of the main consequence of the phenomenon is that reportedly there were three people who were walking on a breakwater south of the inlet, normally 5 or 6 feet above the ocean, were swept into the water. Two of them were injured badly enough to require medical treatment, according to the report of NOAA’s tsunami warning center.

The news is clearly posting wide interests as it has been widely reported around the country and beyond.  But it was up to the USA Today which published the report by Todd B. Bates and Kirk Moore of Asbury Park Press that appeared to set the news straight by first reporting with the correct terminology currently used in the academic world:  "Meteotsunami that hit Barnegat Light on June 13 knocked three off the inlet jetty, injuring at least two people" :

ASBURY PARK, N.J. -- It appears that a rare type of tsunami called a "meteotsunami" hit the New Jersey coast June 13, with Barnegat Light bearing the brunt of the wave.

"There was a strong weather system that moved from across the eastern U.S. that day, then moved offshore New Jersey," said Paul Whitmore, director of the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska.

Strong weather systems can cause jumps in air pressure, spawning waves that act just like tsunamis, Whitmore said.

"The impacts were greatest there in Barnegat Light," he said. An approximately 6-foot wave knocked three people off the inlet jetty, injuring at least two of them, according to a center report.

So there you have it: a happening of meteotsunmai in New Jersey shore! 

Hero fisherman saves mate in epic swim

This happy ending story today is from Australia's Seven News:

A hero fisherman has saved the life of his injured mate after an epic three-hour swim through freezing waters off the Gold Coast.

A freak wave struck the men's dinghy as they returned from a fishing trip late on Tuesday afternoon, leaving one of them with two dislocated shoulders and a dislocated hip.

They had just enough time to grab their lifejackets before the boat went under.

In a heroic act of endurance, the injured man's mate hauled him across two kilometres of freezing open ocean, battling strong currents and big waves.

Three hours later the pair came to ashore on South Stradbroke Island, but were still in danger as they hadn't set off their distress beacon and had no shelter as temperatures plunged into the single digits.

The men were able to gather branches, which they used to make a crude shelter while they awaited rescue.

Relatives of the men contacted police on Tuesday night when the men failed to return from the trip and the search area was narrowed, based on where the men usually fished.

At one point, the freezing men could see a search helicopter on a beach on the island, but they weren't able to signal the crew.

Sergeant Tony Nelson said the pair knew the chopper would be back and resigned themselves to wait in the cold.

"Once the boat capsized, they were able to adapt quite quickly," he told reporters.

"They were always confident that they would make it to the shore. I think they were fortunate."

The men are both in a stable condition in hospital.

The man who towed his mate to shore is being treated for hypothermia.  

And this man is most certainly the hero!  The Seven News article has an appropriate headline: "Hero fisherman saves mate in epic swim." 

Miracle at sea in Atlantic near Nigeria

This news, a few days old, from gCaptain by Joe Brock, just came to my attention:

WARRI, Nigeria, June 12 (Reuters) – After two days trapped in freezing cold water and breathing from an air bubble in an upturned tugboat under the ocean, Harrison Okene was sure he was going to die. Then a torch light pierced the darkness.

Ship’s cook Okene, 29, was on board the Jascon-4 tugboat when it capsized on May 26 due to heavy Atlantic ocean swells around 30 km (20 miles) off the coast of Nigeria, while stabilising an oil tanker filling up at a Chevron platform.

Of the 12 people on board, divers recovered 10 dead bodies while a remaining crew member has not been found.

It is an incredible story! Here's the punchline of the survival story:

Somehow Okene survived, breathing inside a four foot high bubble of air as it shrunk in the waters slowly rising from the ceiling of the tiny toilet and adjoining bedroom where he sought refuge, until two South African divers eventually rescued him.

with some further details:

At 4:50 a.m. on May 26, Okene says he was in the toilet when he realised the tugboat was beginning to turn over. As water rushed in and the Jascon-4 flipped, he forced open the metal door.

“As I was coming out of the toilet it was pitch black so we were trying to link our way out to the water tidal (exit hatch),” Okene told Reuters in his home town of Warri, a city in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta.

“Three guys were in front of me and suddenly water rushed in full force. I saw the first one, the second one, the third one just washed away. I knew these guys were dead.”

What he didn’t know was that he would spend the next two and a half days trapped under the sea praying he would be found.

Turning away from his only exit, Okene was swept along a narrow passageway by surging water into another toilet, this time adjoining a ship’s officers cabin, as the overturned boat crashed onto the ocean floor. To his amazement he was still breathing.

Read the whole article, it's fascinating!  And here's another gCaptain report by Bob Almeida entitled "Miracle at sea . . .":

As reported earlier this week, tragedy struck offshore Escravos, Nigeria on Sunday 26 May when theanchor handling tug Jacson 4 sankin heavy weather.  Divers recovered 10 bodies from the sunken ship and 1 is still missing.

Miraculously however, the ship’s cook, Mr. Okene Harrison, was found alive after spending roughly two days inside the sunken vessel at a depth of 30 meters.

Now how does one to expect a miracle to survive in a disaster?

Tribute for a fallen surfer at Goldcoast Burleigh

Here's a nice coast nearshore area picture published by the Goldcoast.com.au this morning:

It's the picture of a surf zone complete with surf waves with surfers gathered that seems they are having an enjoyable time.  The picture has this caption:   "Dozens of surfers paddle out to remember Matt Hughes, who died in a freak surf accident at Byron Bay recently."  The title of the article is: "Tribute for fallen surfer."  And now the story:

DOZENS of surfers paddled out to Matt Hughes' favourite break at Burleigh on the weekend to pay tribute to the father-of-three, who died in a freak surfing accident at Byron Bay.

Family members held hands and formed a small circle inside the ring of surfers during the emotional tribute on Saturday, scattering rose petals in the waves he loved so much.

Mr Hughes was killed when his longboard hit him on the head, bursting a vital blood vessel, on June 9 at Byron Bay's The Pass.

The 39-year-old's brother Anthony Hughes said his family was overwhelmed by the support, with about 500 people attending the paddle-out.

``It went as good as we could have hoped for,'' he said.

``It was uplifting but I'm still riding the roller-coaster at the moment.

``It was a beautiful show of just how much he was loved in the community. It was huge.

``To be honest, it really does show the sort of guy he was. He was just a likeable, easy-going guy.''

Matt's wife, Michelle, who saw the accident unfold, said she took comfort in the fact that her husband's organs were used to save the lives of at least five people.

It is a rather bitter sweet story.  The tragedy was not caused by freaque wave but it was a  " freak surf accident " unfortunately.   No accident is expected or can be predicted. This one is especially seemingly should not have happened. But it did and  it's heart warming to see the surfers are out there paying tribute to the tragic fallen surfer. We sincerely pray for Mr. Matt Hughes, R.I.P. and hope this kind of freak accident will never ever happen again.

Super full moon

According to this news item:

“A supermoon is when the moon will come to its closest point in its orbit around the earth for the entire year,” says Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer at the Franklin Institute. 

The moon will appear 14 percent larger than normal as it swings closer to Earth than usual.

It was supposed to be cloudy last night and it was.  But around 10:30 pm the cloud opened up somewhat and the moon brightly appeared and I was able to captured the supermoon of 2013 successfully!

I guess moon always holding plenty of romantic notions for human mind ever since ancient times, even after the Apollo lunar mission and Astronaut Neil Armstrong landed the mankind's giant leap on the moon, we still like to keep some of the mystics from our childhood fancy.  Somehow for me, looking at that bright super moon last night, for a brief moment, remembering those long faded childhood dreams, I feel young again!


P.S.

This World of Science Facebook page here has the super full moon image from all around the world.  Enjoy!

Ocean waves seen from outer space

I have been advocating making spatial realistic ocean wave measurements, but at what scale?  Here are two fascinating views from current astronauts Karen Nyberg and Luca Pamitano on the International Space Station Expedition 36/37.  The pictures were presented separately on Twitter recently:

The following picture is from Astronaut Karen Nyberg: The Maldives

The following picture is by Italian Astronaut Luca Pamitano: Oceanic waves and currents become visible in the sunglint

Now these are the real spatial ocean wave pictures as seen from the outer space we have never seen before.  What do we know about them? Any freaque waves in there?  Most importantly why would anyone can still settle for 70 year old single-point wave measurements?

Atlantic Ocean Road in Norway

When I first saw this picture in World of Science, my immediate thought was how are the waves along the road side of this Atlantic Ocean Road in Norway?

Well, the answer is here and in this video:



Curiosity can always be fulfilled on the internet!  Exciting wave watching there! Sincere thanks to all for sharing!

Fishos flipped overboard!

The title of this report in ntnews.com.au is "Fishos flipped overboard." Fisho, according to Wiktionary is an Australian slang for fisherman. Here's the story written by Ellie Turner:

THREE brave fishos swam almost a kilometre to the shore of a remote Territory island - in croc-infested waters - after a freak swell swamped their 4.5m tinnie.Public servant Aaron Packham, 38, said the sea was calm when he and his wife, Dannielle , and their mate Brett dropped anchor in their well-equipped boat at Bynoe Harbour yesterday.
"It got a bit choppy, so we headed closer to shore - then two or three decent waves jumped in the boat,'' Mr Packham said.
"There was nothing that we could do.
"Another one came over and just drenched the boat, and it went completely down.
"I tied the EPIRB around my neck and started swimming.''
They had travelled about 60km from Crab Claw Island on the second day of a fishing weekend when trouble struck.
The trio used Eskies and a fuel tank as floaties.
Brett was picked up by a crew of fishermen who took him to Crab Claw, southwest of Darwin, to raise the alarm and get more help.
But the boat was too small to take all of them.
Mr Packham set off the emergency beacon when he and his wife climbed ashore on Indian Island at 11am.
The Careflight turbo-prop King Air plane, en route from Darwin to Katherine, was diverted to search the popular fishing harbour.
It showed a Navy helicopter where the couple, who suffered some scratches, were stranded.
A Careflight chopper picked them up and the team later drove them back to Bynoe to pick up their car.
"The boat's upside down somewhere bashing against rocks,'' Mr Packham said.
He said they were all thankful to the emergency crews and the other fishos who helped during the rescue.
"We had all the right gear but that's just the way of nature,'' Mr Packham said.
"We're lucky to be alive.''

The last sentence is certainly a welcome punch line for the story. To that we can only add "Amen." All it took was "two or three decent waves jumped in the boat" and then "another one came over" that did it! A fishing trip ended unfortunately with their boat "upside down somewhere bashing against rocks."  Well, whatever happen, happened. Let's just be happy and thank God for the fact that they are alive and well. Deo Gratias!

Skim Boarder Makes a Miracle Save.

Here's a heart warming story about life saving in Aliso Beach published in Laguna Beach News. As shown in the above picture, the hero, Pat Watch on the left, holding a baby he just rescued.  According to the report by Andrea Adelson:

Quick action by a skim boarder saved the life of an infant pulled into a rip tide by a rogue wave on Saturday at Aliso Beach, according to witnesses.

Pat Watson, 46, who took up skim boarding after moving from Hawaii in 1991, said he threw his board aside and took off in a dead sprint when he saw a child tumbling down the sand berm into swirling whitewater. “I couldn’t see anyone else moving,” said Watson, who was skimming with his son, Danny, 18. They both “bolted” for the child.

“I was on it,” Watson said. He figures he covered 75 yards before diving into the surf, even though he had yet to see the child resurface. Incredibly, Watson caught sight of her underwater and grabbed her diaper. “I knew she’d been under water at least 15 seconds,” said Watson, who held the baby up overhead while still trying to get his footing before another wave overtook them.

When he resurfaced again, holding the child like a football to his chest, Watson said she wasn’t moving. “I flipped her over,” he said, flooded with relief when she began to cough, vomit up seawater and cry. He placed the child in the outstretched arms of the trembling, unidentified mother, who left the beach before speaking to authorities, Watson said.

“It’s a phenomenal rescue,” said Jason Young, chief of OC Lifeguards, responsible for guarding Aliso, one of the county’s most popular beaches. “Once a human submerges, there’s a very low chance of saving them,” Young said.

At the time of the rescue prior to noon, county guards were not yet scheduled for duty in Aliso’s towers, Young said, though one guard in a vehicle was roving between Aliso and Three Arch Bay beaches. Laguna’s five southern beach coves are county beaches.

It is always gratifying to read a story like this one.  The editor gave the article a nice headline: "Skim Boarder Makes a Miracle Save."  And the article concludes with this aftermath:

Later, Watson’s daughter told him she had observed the incident’s origin, seeing a rogue wave sweep the beach and swamp the mother, wearing street clothes and walking near the top of the sand berm, who twice attempted to grab the child before she tumbled into the surf.

Other than skimmers, few people were in the water because of the strong surf, Watson said.

So it all started with a freaque wave sweep the beach. It was a local happening, but great rescue story nevertheless -- and for believers it's a miracle indeed there are God's fingerprints all over it!

Happened at Shoal Bay Beach

This nice beach picture is a picture of Shoal Bay Beach northeast of Australia's Newcastle, New South Wales. The picture accompanies an article published this morning in the Border Mail, written by Alison Branley, entitled "Wave surge kills tourist":   

A strong wave surge has been blamed for killing a 60-year-old woman while she was walking along Shoal Bay Beach in Port Stephens at the weekend.

The woman, understood to be from Londonderry in Sydney's west, was reportedly walking along the west end of the beach when she was knocked unconscious by a shore-dumping wave.

It is believed the tourist was dragged out by the wave and drowned.

Paramedics were sent about 8.30am on Saturday after the woman was pulled unconscious from the surf.

They tried to revive the woman but she died at the scene.

Reports suggest the woman may have lost her shoe and had been trying to retrieve it when she was struck.

Despite sleepy Shoal Bay's reputation for calm waters, the spot at the west end of the beach is known among locals as a notorious spot during wave surges because of a combination of steep sand and shore dumpers.

So here, again, a sad beach tragedy happened! Even in a beach that has a reputation for "calm waters"! Well, as the locals know the dangerous of the spot is notorious, how can a tourist be so informed and be forewarned not to lost her shoe there?  It all seems so unreal, but tragedy always happens when there is least expectation!  May the lady rest in peace and may all tourists have a heightened sense of caution so that not to let their guard down when enjoy walking on those beautiful peaceful beaches!

Life's ebb and flow

U. Southern Cal.'s USC News yesterday yesterday published this article, written by Marc Ballon, entitled "Life's ebb and flow" that tells a rather sad, freakish happening but emerged as an inspirational and uplifting story of their Engineering Ph.D. student, Ryan Williams:

Ryan Williams led a charmed, sun-splashed existence.

The USC Viterbi School of Engineering PhD student found his classes stimulating, professors engaging and research on autonomous underwater robots fascinating. And then there was his California Dreamin’ lifestyle.

Williams, a native of Roanoke, Va., luxuriated in the Southern California sunshine, golfing, swimming and skiing. He even took up surfing, which energized him.

“The California mentality was refreshing and, of course, the weather was amazing,” he said.

And then everything changed. On Jan. 27, 2008, Williams went to Santa Monica with friends to catch some waves. As he paddled toward the breakers, he dove under an oncoming swell.

In a freak accident, he landed headfirst in a hidden sandbar and snapped his neck. He lost all feeling in his legs and arms. If not for the two surfers who pulled him from the water, Williams would have surely drowned.

At just 26, the former high school pitcher and star basketball player had become a quadriplegic, with no use of his legs and limited use of his hands. Many people in a similar position would have understandably retreated into self-pity and bitterness. Not Williams.

“I don’t feel downtrodden at all,” he said. “I try to say, ‘this is life. This is the way it is. Let’s try to do something with it.’ ”

He's certainly determined to "do something with it" with a roaring start! That's really showing a remarkable and courageous young scholar with a brilliant future.  We wish all the best for him. Go for it!

Dark soliton?

About two weeks ago, United-Academics magazine published the following story about "Dark Solitons" that entitled "Dark Solitons Demonstrated For the First Time":

In physics and math there are wave structures called solitons (notsolutions) that are defined as self-contained packets or pulses.  Two types of solitons that have long been of interest in the world of scientific research are bright and dark solitons.  Until recently, only bright solitons have been successfully demonstrated in a wave tank.  This month a team of researchers at Imperial College London, including mathematician Amin Chabchoub, successfully created an example of a dark soliton in water.  Their actions bring important new information that will impact the world of optics, oceanography, and beyond. 

In the context of the ocean, waves evolve in that familiar manner as they as ebb and flow. Solitons, on the other hand, somehow manage to keep a constant size and shape.  They also travel more slowly than regular waves. In the 60′s and 70′s oceanographers observed bright solitons in the deep sea, later successfully recreating them in a laboratory setting.  Their work revealed that bright solitons are the cause of, among other phenomena, rogue waves that occur at sea. It was then theorized that dark solitons must be capable of the opposite- decreasing the power of a wave. 

Using a 17 meter long wave tank, Dr. Chabchoub and his team simulated wave formations as they passed through dark solitons.  What they found was that, indeed, there was a reduction in the amplitude of the waves.  With this result the team now wants to investigate what happens when bright and dark solitons come together. Their hope is that if they continue down this current path, this information could help coastal regions better deal with large waves caused by extreme weather or earthquakes.  Today’s dark soliton experiments in a laboratory could become tomorrow’s anti-tsunami safety system.

Their source was this article in Physics World with this impressive figure that called "dark dip".



I think the key sentence that may get everyone excited is this one:

Their actions bring important new information that will impact the world of optics, oceanography, and beyond.

I guess oceanographers and ocean wave scientists would be interested. But, but, BUT, I just failed to see there's any real ocean wave connection here that can be translated the theory to the real ocean, especially deep-trough kind of freaque waves in the ocean are not uncommon. Obviously theoreticians do need this ocean implication to justify their far out theoretical mumbo-jumble could have some sort of real world usefulness, but what, where, and how it can be done are still the unanswerable questions every time a new theory came around to make this conjecture and this one this time is certainly no exception.  There is as yet just no conceivable road way to link between theoretical ivory tower and the real ocean -- an unavoidable fact that no theoretical gurus would care to face!!

A rogue wave, a freak wave, or something!

This recently happened tragic case in Gulf of Mexico SE of Galveston, Texas is nicely summarized by Marc Lallanilla, Assistant Editor of LiveScience.com as reported in the Yahoo!News:

The U.S. Coast Guard announced on Sunday (April 21) that it was suspending the search for four fishermen whose boat is believed to have been destroyed by a rogue wave.

The 50-foot Nite Owl vessel was tied to an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico about 115 miles (185 kilometers) southeast of Galveston, Texas, in rough weather on Friday morning (April 19), according to the Associated Press .

But in the early morning darkness, "a rogue wave, a freak wave or something hit the side of the boat," John Reynolds, the sole survivor of the accident, told the AP.

The wave "tore the wheel house and canopy off the boat," Larry Moore, owner of the commercial fishing vessel, told the Beaumont Enterprise from his home in Golden Meadow, La. "Everyone was asleep when it happened." The shattered craft sank within two minutes." [Shipwrecks Gallery: Secrets of the Deep]

Rogue waves, sometimes called "freak waves," are extremely large waves that occur far out at sea in apparent isolation and without any obvious cause. The waves can easily reach 100 feet (30 meters) or more in height.

Though researchers have yet to understand how rogue waves develop, some scientists claim atmospheric pressure may play a role. Other research suggests rogue waves could result from the clash of two interacting wave systems traveling perpendicular to each other.

After a possible rogue wave destroyed the Nite Owl, all five men aboard were thrown into the choppy water without life jackets.

Though Reynolds tried to help the other men into the life raft he found, his efforts were thwarted by the rough sea's 12-foot (3.7 m) waves and his crewmates' poor swimming ability, he said.

 "I got in the raft. I heard them call out. There was a little ring inside there with a 60-foot line on it," Reynolds told the AP. "I threw it in the direction I heard [a crewmate] hollering from, hoping he could grab a hold of it and pull himself to the life raft. Apparently, he couldn't get a hold of it."

Reynolds, 56, was rescued by the Coast Guard later that morning after firing flares into the air. Though he has worked as a commercial fisherman for 35 years, Reynolds told the Beaumont Enterprise that this was the first time he had ever ended up in the water.

The key information is clearly what the sole survivor told AP: "A rogue wave, a freak wave, or something hit the side of the boat!" But the scary part has to be that the boat was tied to an oil rig and still only one was lucky to be near a life raft.  The oil rig was obviously survived, but 5 lives lost unfortunately.  May they all rest in peace now. This is another case that science will not able to do anything to help!

Surfing at Cribbar

For us outsiders who may not ever heard Cribbar, Wikipedia has this to tell about Cribbar completes with map location:

The Cribbar (English: Ploughed Reef), also known as the Widow Maker, is a reef off the Towan Headland in Newquay, Cornwall, United Kingdom.

The Cribbar is best known for creating annual big waves, popular with experienced big wave surfers from across the world. Wave faces can be in excess of 30 ft (9.1 m). The Zorba is a reef 2 miles (3.2 km) further off the coast and can create even higher waves.

Now here's an article in today's UK Daily Mail showing a series of photos and a video along with this:

They call it the Bone Cruncher, and sometimes the Widow Maker - a rare 20ft swell that comes crashing down on the Cornish coastline.

Only the bravest surfers are willing to take it on - and that's exactly what this daredevil succeeded in doing yesterday.

These images show the solitary surfer had a clear path ahead as he rode on the crest of the infamous Cribbar wave.

The swell became the stuff of legend in 1966 when three visiting Australian surfers stumbled upon it. 

So in north America the spring is still not quite arriving yet, surfing in other part of the globe is already started! Have a strong, satisfactory, and of course safe, surfing year!

A freaque wave encounter at Sanremo, Italy

Here's a video of freaque wave encounter given by the web of gCaptain entitled "Wave Crashes Over Italian Seawall, Car and Motorcyclist Swept into Harbor [VIDEO]" by Rob Almeida on January 31, 2013 with this descriptrion:

The closed-circuit cameras on a yacht in Portosole, Sanremo, Italy captured the moment when on Jan. 23, 2013 a wave crashed over the sea wall, sending a motorcyclist, his bike and a car into the marina. It is believed the motorcyclist was not seriously injured.

The video ia also available here:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2FFFq7wjsTg>




Check it out! The people involved was o.k. and the damages were minor.  But it was a real freaque wave encounter!

Miracle at sea: Fishermen escape death from rogue wave

Here's a heart-warming story as told by a skipper published in Halifax's Herald News, entitled "Miracle at sea: Fishermen escape death from rogue wave" written by Brian Medel of Yarmouth Bureau:

THE HAND of God delivered two Nova Scotia fishermen from the deep earlier this month, says a Woods Harbour skipper.

 Sandy Stoddard, captain of the Logan & Morgan, spoke Monday about a miracle at sea two weeks ago, when two young men who were tossed overboard after a violent rogue wave slammed into their boat were returned from almost certain death.

 Just 16 days after the entire crew of the Miss Ally was lost, Stoddard went to sea. It was the halibut fisherman’s first trip since that tragedy.

 March 5 was a dark night.

 “We were off Canso … probably 75 miles,” Stoddard said. “We were hauling our gear when it happened. A huge wave came out of nowhere.”

 Winds were gusting 75 to 90 kilometres per hour.

 “In 40-some years … I’ve never seen nothing like that,” 56-year-old Stoddard said with a note of disbelief in his voice.

SEE ALSO: Investigation into sinking of Miss Ally ends

 “It just came out of nowhere and just picked us right up and threw us down. And when it threw us down, it threw two men overboard.”

 The small group of fishermen working aft were in their oil gear work clothes. They had no time to don survival suits.

 Stoddard, the fifth man on board, was in the wheelhouse.

 Wind screeched through cables and deck gear banged together hard as the boat slammed back down into the trough behind the wave.

 The four crew members straining to hold on suddenly became two. The men on deck looked around frantically and screamed to Stoddard at the helm, “They’re gone!”

 How in the world did the crew get their friends back, people have asked.

 “Listen,” said Stoddard, speaking deliberately.

 “I’m telling you right now … it’s only by the grace of God that we got ’em back. That’s the only way.

 “One guy we got back … it’s hard to explain where this guy went. He told me he stood on something and it threw him back aboard the boat.

 “We’re Christian people. It was God’s hand that he stood on, and God flipped him back aboard the boat.

 “He didn’t get wet. He was to his neck in the water and he was still dry when he came back aboard the boat.”

 That man was Gordie Rhyno, Stoddard said.

 When he dropped on deck, he ran to the stern, where the other missing man — Gregory Nickerson — would suddenly surface.

 “He just knew,” Stoddard said. “Gordie was on the stern hollering for Gregory and then Gregory answered him.”

 Nickerson appeared under a 1.6-metre aluminum overhang, a platform supported by braces.

 “He came up underneath there and he was panicking and his hand hit one of the braces and he grabbed the brace,” Stoddard said. “He only called out the once. We (didn’t) hear him no more.”

 The men threw a lifesaver to where Nickerson’s voice was last heard.

 “On the fourth throw … Gordie said, ‘I got him,’” Stoddard said.

 Readings on board showed the water temperature was 2.2 C.

 The men worked on Nickerson because he had swallowed a lot of water.

 “It took us an hour before we got Gregory back,” Stoddard said.

 An emergency call was never made.

 “It happened so fast. It was over and there was nothing to call in.”

 Nickerson said Monday that he is feeling better and will probably head back to sea soon.

 “We was all there joking and laughing, then it was just, bang,” he told CBC News. “Nobody knew nothing. Nobody seen it coming.”

 Some have asked why the outcome with the Miss Ally was so different. Both had crews of five men. Both sought halibut in much the same area of ocean.

 “We cannot and will not and do not have the answers to the things that we … know nothing about,” Stoddard said.

 And while the community grieves for the five lost from the Miss Ally, Stoddard said he’s thankful his men were saved.

 “That makes five men I’ve lost,” said Stoddard, who was a captain at 19.

 He lost three in the 1980s.

 “I got em all back.”

 Stoddard hasn’t been on the ocean since the harrowing incident. But soon, maybe this week, he will head out.

 “We’re facing, for some reason, way more rogue waves today than we ever faced before. I don’t remember ’em being like this.”

 People need to be ready, Stoddard said, because the end may be closer than they realize.

This story was given by Woods Harbour fisherman Capt. Sandy Stoddard when he talked with reporters outside of the Woods Harbour Community Centre in Woods Harbour on Feb. 23, 2013. Thanks to Brian Medel for recording this great story. One just can not quarrel with the skipper about' "The hand of God" behind all these! We just wish to thank the Good Lord Who does allow such a nice story be actually happen and be told. Deo Gratias!

 

Tragedy in Ireland over St. Patrick Day weekend

A St Patrick weekend tragic Irish news reported in the independent.ie by Greg Harkin and Tom Shiel shows some important lessons to note:

A Polish man who had been living in Ireland for a number of years died after being hit by a freak wave on a fishing trip with friends.

The 55-year-old fisherman, who was married and had been living in Co Kildare, drowned when he fell off rocks into the sea at Mullaghmore Head, Co Sligo.

The report also included this tidbit:

The incident happened in an area notorious for freak waves. Local anglers tend to avoid the area.

So two points here should be of particular note: first the area where the tragedy happened is known to be "an area notorious for freaque waves". And further "Local angelers tend to avoid the area!" Therefore when visiting some fishing place it is clearly advisible to seek local informations to learn the local experiences and for safety! By all means avoid any place local people are known to have avoiding!

Happened along Mexican beach

Beach going, a stroll along the beach front should be the most enjoyable part of  a vacation outing. Right? Yes! But that's not always work out as expected.  The unexpected happenings lurking behind them can be tragic as this ChristianPost.com reports:

A giant wave is being blamed for the death of an elderly woman who was walking with a companion on a beach in Mexico when it broke on the shoreline, sucking her and a companion out to sea.
Local officials indicated that the deadly wave broke on shore as the pair of U.S. tourists was walking on the beach close to the famous stone arch in the Pacific resort of Cabo San Lucas. A 65-year-old woman was killed in the unusual event, while her 70-year-old partner was listed in serious condition at an area hospital.

This almost familiar story line happened again 10 days ago as this article by Myles Collier reports. The headline tells all: "Giant Wave Kills Tourist in Freak Accident Along Mexican Beach." I guess all accidents are to some extent freaque, but in this case it was caused by a giant wave broke on shore. May the tragic victim rest in peace!

When Lake Michigan shore freezes . . .

I thought I can imagine what a lakeshore looks like when the lake freezes in winter. But wait, that certainly does not quite look like this ?

I found this UPI picture (Credit Leda Olmsted) in the UPI article by Kristen Butler entitled "Massive ice boulders om Michigan shore."

Giant ice boulders line the shore of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. While ice does break off from floes on Lake Michigan, residents say they've never seen anything like this.

So I am not the odd one who have not seen something like this! It is something local residents have never seen anything like this before.   Now my question to the global warming alarmists: Is this a prove of global warming or disprove? Or may be they just want to forget about it!