Yikes! Rogue Waves

[Keegan]

Rogue waves: Monsters of the deep | The Economist

Interesting Article on Rogue Waves

[Ocean Girl]

Keegan, Know this post is a little old but haven't had time to really paruse the site for a while. Isn't funny that sailors have been telling scientists that these waves exist (white squal) and science has just finally caught up with us . I believe there is a site that shows the danger zones for these waves on a world map (Gord might find it...).

Are mermaids next?
Erika

PS
I guess asking if anyone has experienced a true white squal would be mute as they probable wouldn't be here to tell it. I have had many a roque wave encounters but probably only 1x higher than the average wave height at the time.

[Cheechako]

what is a white squall other than an intense wind cell blowing a lot of spray/ rain around...?

[Ocean Girl]

Well.. maybe I am wrong ?? but I thought a white squall is what we sailors call a true rogue wave, that is, a 100 footer, traveling in another direction from the other waves, at a faster speed. It is so big it looks like a squall line though it is solid water. Now that I think about it maybe I'm mixing that up with white horse...the white horses...hmm...someone help me here, what do we sailors call the monster waves.. Other than rogue wave that is.

Erika

[barnakiel]

Ney, the white squall - a big puff, but apparently, not much wave action.

b.

[sv-Mystique]

White Squall

[barnakiel]

Anybody here been thru such an event (white squall)?

If the sails are down - will the rig stay or is it more serious and may blow away the rig too?

b.

[s/v Jedi]

I actually thought that a white squall comes with vertical wind (down draft) which is the only wind that can capsize a sailboat.

cheers,
Nick.

[Talbot]

There isschool of thought that considers white squalls to be microbursts:

a very localized column of sinking air, producing damaging divergent and straight-line winds at the surface that are similar to but distinguishable from tornadoes which generally have convergent damage. There are two types of microbursts: wet microbursts and dry microbursts. They go through three stages in their life cycle: the downburst, outburst, and cushion stages. The scale and suddenness of a microburst makes it a great danger to aircraft due to the low-level wind shear caused by its gust front, with several fatal crashes having been attributed to the phenomenon over the past several decades.
A microburst often has high winds that can knock over fully grown trees. They usually last for a couple of seconds.

Illustration of a microburst. Note the downward motion of the air until it hits ground level. It then spreads outward in all directions. The wind regime in a microburst is opposite to that of a tornado.

Lots more on this in wiki

[GordMay]

"White Squall" ~ by the late Stan Rogers

[The town of Wiarton is situated at the mouth of one of the deepest Great Lake Ports. For years, over 30% of the Captains and First Mates employed in shipping on the Lakes came from this quiet fishing town in the Bruce Peninsula. There are very few families in the town, even now, who have not lost a close relative to the fury of the lakes.]

Now it's just my luck to have the watch, with nothing left to do
But watch the deadly waters glide as we roll north to the 'Soo',
And wonder when they'll turn again and pitch us to the rail
And whirl off one more youngster in the gale.
The kid was so damned eager. It was all so big and new.
You never had to tell him twice, or find him work to do.
And evenings on the mess deck he was always first to sing,
And show us pictures of the girl he'd wed in spring.
CHORUS
But I told that kid a hundred times "Don't take the Lakes for granted.
They go from calm to a hundred knots so fast they seem enchanted."
But tonight some red-eyed Wiarton girl lies staring at the wall,
And her lover's gone into a white squall.
CHORUS
Now it's a thing that us oldtimers know. In a sultry summer calm
There comes a blow from nowhere, and it goes off like a bomb.
And a fifteen thousand tonner can be thrown upon her beam
While the gale takes all before it with a scream.
The kid was on the hatches, lying staring at the sky.
>From where I stood I swear I could see tears fall from his eyes.
So I hadn't the heart to tell him that he should be on a line,
Even on a night so warm and fine.
CHORUS
When it struck, he sat up with a start; I roared to him, "Get down!"
But for all that he could hear, I could as well not made a sound.
So, I clung there to the stanchions, and I felt my face go pale,
As he crawled hand over hand along the rail.
I could feel her keeling over with the fury of the blow.
I watched the rail go under then, so terrible and slow.
Then, like some great dog she shook herself and roared upright again.
Far overside. I heard him call my name.
CHORUS
So it's just my luck to have the watch, with nothing left to do
But watch the deadly waters glide as we roll north to the 'Soo',
And wonder when they'll turn again and pitch us to the rail
And whirl off one more youngster in the gale.
But I tell these kids a hundred times "Don't take the Lakes for granted.
They go from calm to a hundred knots so fast they seem enchanted."
But tonight some red-eyed Wiarton girl lies staring at the wall,
And her lover's gone into a white squall

[idpnd]

looks nasty

theres a white squall film which is quite fun..

[S&S]

Originally Posted by GordMay

"White Squall" ~ by the late Stan Rogers

[The town of Wiarton is situated at the mouth of one of the deepest Great Lake Ports. For years, over 30% of the Captains and First Mates employed in shipping on the Lakes came from this quiet fishing town in the Bruce Peninsula. There are very few families in the town, even now, who have not lost a close relative to the fury of the lakes.]

Now it's just my luck to have the watch, with nothing left to do
But watch the deadly waters glide as we roll north to the 'Soo',
And wonder when they'll turn again and pitch us to the rail
And whirl off one more youngster in the gale.
The kid was so damned eager. It was all so big and new.
You never had to tell him twice, or find him work to do.
And evenings on the mess deck he was always first to sing,
And show us pictures of the girl he'd wed in spring.
CHORUS
But I told that kid a hundred times "Don't take the Lakes for granted.
They go from calm to a hundred knots so fast they seem enchanted."
But tonight some red-eyed Wiarton girl lies staring at the wall,
And her lover's gone into a white squall.
CHORUS
Now it's a thing that us oldtimers know. In a sultry summer calm
There comes a blow from nowhere, and it goes off like a bomb.
And a fifteen thousand tonner can be thrown upon her beam
While the gale takes all before it with a scream.
The kid was on the hatches, lying staring at the sky.
>From where I stood I swear I could see tears fall from his eyes.
So I hadn't the heart to tell him that he should be on a line,
Even on a night so warm and fine.
CHORUS
When it struck, he sat up with a start; I roared to him, "Get down!"
But for all that he could hear, I could as well not made a sound.
So, I clung there to the stanchions, and I felt my face go pale,
As he crawled hand over hand along the rail.
I could feel her keeling over with the fury of the blow.
I watched the rail go under then, so terrible and slow.
Then, like some great dog she shook herself and roared upright again.
Far overside. I heard him call my name.
CHORUS
So it's just my luck to have the watch, with nothing left to do
But watch the deadly waters glide as we roll north to the 'Soo',
And wonder when they'll turn again and pitch us to the rail
And whirl off one more youngster in the gale.
But I tell these kids a hundred times "Don't take the Lakes for granted.
They go from calm to a hundred knots so fast they seem enchanted."
But tonight some red-eyed Wiarton girl lies staring at the wall,
And her lover's gone into a white squall

That's a great one, Thanks Gord.

Hit one of those "microbursts" on Huron- spun us like a top (thank God for some weather helm), yanked the mandrel right out of the in-boom furler-through the slot (since pitched) then -"click"- back to 10kts. No Fun. Lost my Rx sunglasses too

[barnakiel]

Other than in the movies - have you ever been through such an experience?

b.

[S&S]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Other than in the movies - have you ever been through such an experience?

b.

What kind of experience? 100' waves? No. (Thank God)

[barnakiel]

No - I mean the white squall - anybody first hand experience?

I talked to a skipper of a boat hit by a waterspout, but have never met anybody who been thru the famous, and according to some sources - quite common, white squall / microburst.

Anybody?

b.