Sailing Magazine
by Richard Crockett
Those who have spent a lot of time at sea may well have experienced “the ultimate wave”, a “rogue wave” or even a “freak wave” – call them what you like as they are all pretty similar and are best avoided!
Frank Robb penned today’s feature in the 1959 November/December issue of SA Yachting, and while so much more is known about
them today thanks to dedicated studies and even satellites, they are still a fact of life.
This is how Robb opened the feature: “There are other names for it – the “occasional freak sea”, the “abnormal wave”, the “catastrophic sea”. Even the staid Admiralty “Pilot” books refer gloomily to the existence of “giant seas” – although they steadfastly refuse to give any estimates of height, nor any counsel on what action should be taken on meeting the monster.
“What we are to understand by this is a wave that differs from a normal wave in size and/or form in such a manner as to make it particularly dangerous to ships of all sizes. There can be no doubt that such waves do occur, although with any luck a man might spend a lifetime at sea without running into one.
“Their normal breeding place is the high latitudes and the tropical hurricane zones, and the blame for many a ”lost without trace” tragedy can be laid on them.”
I have unashamedly used the illustration entitled “Roaring Forties” – A painting of ‘Suhaili’ commissioned by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston to commemorate the first solo non-stop round the world race. Recalling the scene, Robin said: “I heard rather than saw this giant wave and climbed the rigging to avoid being swept away.”
READ MORE HERE: 1959 11-12 – SA Yachting – ultimate wave – OCR
