Easter morning incident at Skennars Head

The headline of this article by Nigel Raynard in the Coffs Coast Advocate is "Freak waves hit fishermen at Skennars Head". The article is accompanied with this beautiful morning picture: 

Nigel Raynard is also the photographer as he indicated that he was standing on the headland at Boulder Beach early Easter Sunday when he saw two fishermen swept off the rocks at The Peg. And here's the story he told as a 3rd person:

WHAT was supposed to be a calm shot of two silhouettes fishing against an orange sunrise at Boulder Beach at Skennars Head on Sunday turned into a dramatic sequence when both men were swept off The Peg by a large swell.

Photographer Nigel Raynard was standing on the headland early Easter Sunday when the event unfolded.

"I was just at Boulder Beach taking some photos on the way to work and I saw those young guys fishing at The Peg," he said.

"The first wave took the first guy off and he fell backwards into the water.

"Luckily he didn't hit his head."

Fortunately, there was a group of surfers nearby who spotted the young fishermen in trouble.

"One of the surfers got the guy on his board and took him all the way to the beach," Mr Raynard said.

"Immediately after, the other guy got washed off by the next wave in the set.

"He fell off into the southern side of The Peg, which isn't as easy to get to.

And

Bystanders on the headland yelled out to surfers and pointed in the direction of the second fisherman.

Another big wave hit, launching the second fisherman into the channel on the southern side.

The man was washed to the end of the channel and managed to scramble up the rocks before collapsing on the ground.

Mr Raynard said it was a miracle neither fisherman was seriously injured.

"It's amazing they didn't hit their heads," he said.

Far North Coast Fishing Club Association president Ren Standley said The Peg was a notoriously dangerous spot for rock fishermen.

"You never fish in the swell," he said. "There's been quite a few go off there over the years."

Brian Wilson from Ballina Angling Club said it was a popular spot for fishermen as one of the few land based areas to catch bigger species of fish like tuna, however fisherman needed to be cautious.

"Even in small swells, you get one wave and there's no protection," he said.

So in the end with the surfer's rescue, neither fisherman is seriously injured, a miraculously happy ending of a frightful  Easter morning freaque wave encounter. Happy Easter!

Here are two other pictures with waves in action presumably was also taken that morning:

For me a desk sailor or land surfer it is always overwhelmingly enjoyable to see this kind of action wave pictures.  Thanks, Mr. Raynard.

Another video on a storm off South Coast of Ireland. 01/feb/2014.

The above is another super video introduced by Michael Ballaban of jalopnik.com. With this explanations:

Growing up I always wanted to be a captain on a ship. Wear a white hat, have a great big gray beard, hold a pipe but never actually smoke it, all those fun things. After seeing what massive storm swells look like off the south coast of Ireland, I might want to rethink that. 

The Reddit user that posted this video, stevgoldhound, says that he's a merchant mariner on a 203-foot boat, and that this is a bit of a typical storm. Previously he's encountered sees as high as 80 feet before. 

In a storm like this, you've got two options. Keep all your future sailing to inner-city ponds, while you cower in terror at the sea and the incessant squeaking of the windshield wiper, or lash yourself to the bow, and screaming at the mighty ocean to hit you with all it's got. 

I don't know why those are the only two options, but that is what they are and I don't make the rules. 

Good luck out there, sailor.

I can't say that I enjoyed watching this video. Since I am usually suffering seasickness, watching the video did tightened up my stomach somewhat. What I am enjoyed was knowing the fact that what I am seeing is the real thing, true reality, on what is happening out there in the open ocean. What really hits me is that when we out there in the real ocean surrounded by waves large and small, wave spectra, significant wave heights will be something meaningless -- who cares about them???

Oh yes, another question, when out there in the real ocean, does it or does it not, freaque waves always on every one's mind. My feeling is the latter. Really, if it happens it happens, who's going to unnecessarily worry about something that may or may not happen anyway?!

Video show on a vessel in heavy seas during severe weather conditions

I came across this above youtube video from Jalopnik.com given here  entitled "Watch Heavy Seas Bend and Twist a Giant Ship like Taffy" written by Michael Ballaban. It appears the video was taken at different parts of this giant cargo ship that really gave a clear indication regarding what was happening to the ship during the encountering of this heavy seas. Here as Ballaban tells it:

The Skagen Maersk is 1,138.5 feet long, and weighs over 100,000 tons. That sounds pretty big and strong. But when faced with some big waves, the whole thing undulates and groans like a bucking bronco. This is crazy. 

We've seen videos of big ocean swells before, but we haven't seen just what it can do to the innards of a huge, ocean-going vessel. The power of the sea puts massive forces on the ship, forcing it to bend to its will. Even deep in the belly of the ship, you can see one end of a corridor swaying back and forth. 

If I was on board, I'd probably jump off as soon as I could, because That Does Not Look Right. 

But everything is all right, according to the video, and big ships are designed to twist about in heavy seas, much like airplane wings bend in turbulence. If they weren't flexible, they would break. 

That doesn't make it feel any better though. I'd be putting on my lifejacket.

I guess one can not argue with video evidence of everything is all right. They knew that they were encountering the heavy sea. So just bracing to brave through it. One may wonders what might happen if it comes all of a sudden in generally calm condition, yes, when it encounters a freaque wave, would it still be all right? Let's hope it would be!

Happy rescue happened in North Pacific during the Clipper Round the World Race

This case has been well reported.  The above picture is from the South China Morning Post's report by Associated Press. A subtitle of the story states:  "Andrew Taylor was thrown overboard during The Clipper Round the World Race and faced a situation that has claimed many lives in the past" that's about to set the stage and here's what happened:

Halfway between China and San Francisco, British sailor Andrew Taylor suddenly found himself floating alone in the cold, rough North Pacific. 

One moment he'd been helping to change a sail aboard the 70-foot yacht Derry-Londonderry-Doire, and the next he'd fallen overboard, smashed into the rudder and was being swept away in big waves and strong wind. 

For a while he was within sight of the sloop, which is competing in The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. 

Then he wasn't. 

"I never contemplated I would die. I did consider whether the boat would find me," the 46-year-old Taylor said in an interview from the boat via satellite phone. 

About one hour, 40 minutes after falling in just past the International Date Line on Monday, Taylor was pulled out by his crewmates. He was treated for hypothermia and his leg was put in a splint. He'll have X-rays after the boat arrives in San Francisco on either April 11 or 12.
Taylor, a catering manager from London, said he never panicked and never gave up hope of being rescued because he knew his fellow crew members were well trained for a man-overboard emergency. "I just want to express my gratitude to the team for their work and effort," said Taylor, who had never set foot aboard a boat before he began training for this race in 2012. "It was a traumatic experience for everyone, for the crew as well as for me in the water."

This is a quite a good story telling piece. Being a happy ending it might even be enjoyable to read.  But of course for those who involved it was certainly not a picnic out there. Still by falling overboard it is gratifying to hear him saying that he was never contemplated that he would die. Not everyone can have that kind of bold bravery but it will be great help if you have it!

May be because of the happy ending, the article was written in a relaxing style. Here's some further details:

Before he fell overboard, Taylor was on the foredeck helping skipper Sean McCarter with a sail change. 

They were having some trouble so Taylor started to head back to get a pair of pliers. McCarter was able to unhook the sail when the boat suddenly leaned heavily downwind. 

"One second my feet were on the boat, the next second my head was in the water," Taylor said. "It happened so very, very quickly." 

Taylor thought his safety harness was clipped to the boat. 

McCarter said in a story posted on the race website that somewhere between going to get the pliers then not needing them, Taylor got distracted and forgot to clip on again. 

McCarter hollered "man overboard" and the crew began turning the boat around. Even after the engine was started, the boat had a hard time in winds of 35 knots and waves estimated to be four to six metres high. 

The crew could see Taylor about 200 metres away but he was quickly drifting. 

Taylor, who was wearing a life jacket and a dry suit, said a sudden storm pushed him farther from the boat and he was having trouble with his personal locator beacon. 

"It really got very nasty for a while," he said. "I got rolled over in some of the waves, like a washing machine. By the time the storm passed I didn't know where the boat was." 

More than an hour after Taylor fell in the water, a crewman shouted to McCarter that his personal locator beacon had just activated. 

Another crew member up the mast spotted Taylor more than 400 metres away. 

"I heard voices screaming. I heard voices calling my name," Taylor said. "I lifted up my spray hood and the boat was right in front of me."

I would like to add: Thanks be to God!

Happened at Santa Barbara beach

This news item by Morgan Chilson in NewsMax.com yesterday is a little disturbing to read: During Baptism in Ocean Waves, Man Swept Out to Sea. 

A man helping a pastor perform a baptism in the Pacific Ocean was swept out to sea by a rogue wave on Sunday and has not been found.

Pastor Maurigro Cervantes of Jesus Christ Light of the Sky Church, told KCOY-TV that his cousin, Benito Flores, 43, was helping with the baptism when a wave grabbed him.

“A big wave came and took Benito. I tried to take him out, he was heavy and then another big wave came,” Cervantes told KCOY.

Two other people were also pulled away from shore by the waves, but they were able to swim back to safety.

The baptism was being performed on the coast in Santa Barbara County.

KCOY reported that the Coast Guard continues to search for the man, although the Santa Barbara Fire Department had suspended its search.Cervantes told the Santa Maria Times that he performs the baptismal service at that location two or three times a year. He said about 25 people attended Sunday’s service.

The case is by no means new, even in this blog we have repeatedly reported similar kind of news  whenever it had happened and reported in the news.  So once again it shows freaque waves are totally unexpected and it can happen at any place at any time to any one.  This time it also shows unfortunately replicating St John the Baptist's historical act in Jordan river is not without risks, even in the peaceful beach area. It had happened to all different instances, this may be the first time encountered by a serious religious ceremony.  I certainly do not wish to discourage this kind of ceremony, but I do wish to make a modest suggestion: next time make certain everyone on the beach wear a life jacket just in case! Of course also make certain there should be life guard around just in case also.  No excuse should be tolerated by not providing any safety cautions during this kind of occasions involves a group of people!

       

 

       

A rogue wave had hit the ship!

The Baltimore tv station, abc27_WHTM, has this headline item on their site abc27.com: Midstate woman on cruise ship rattled by high waves  by Al Gnoza. Of particular interest to us is this line: "People on board reported that a rogue wave had hit the ship, causing the top deck to collapse".


The cruise ship is Royal Caribbean Cruise's Grandeur of the Seas in the Atlantic Ocean. Maryland passenger Patti Hill Bocassini is onboard the 10 day cruise that visited places like San Juan and St. Thomas has this to report:

"The captain came on and said we were averaging 20 foot waves," Bocassini said on the phone. "This is the very high winds that are coming from the Nor'easter which is ahead of us. But the wind is still blowing down here and around Cape Hatteras is really bad any way."

Bocassini posted this update around dinner time: "waves still high boat still rocking deck has been repaired winds to die down tonight."- smiley face.

So this is a sighting of freaque waves encountered with no details as usual and no sustentative damage. All's well!

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!

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!

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!

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.

 

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!

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?  

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!

'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?

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!

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:

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.

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!!

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!