Strange Water Formation Seen

[PilotJesse]

Yep, these things are pretty common.

[s/v Jedi]

Here's another one; what you see aren't waves... they don't move. They are pyramid shaped columns of water that just jump up. It is caused by the currents from two rivers interacting when they meet.

This was taken in 2002 in Harwich, England.

ciao!
Nick.

[CharlieCobra]

I've seen the above, only much bigger, up to 6' tall and not moving, just jumping up. We were sailing to windward against a flood in the Bellingham Channel aboard my V-21 when we he those. After 2 hours of going nowhere tacking back and forth, we doused and punched through on the outboard. T'was a very rough, wet ride.

[s/v Jedi]

Oh yes, some places are notorious for it and we've seen better examples but weren't in the mood for taking pictures of them ;-)
The nice thing above is that you can also see the river (muddy colored) fighting the sea (darker colored water). Where the water is dark, it's smooth without any of the pyramids.

ciao!
Nick.

[s/v Beth]

This next year I will see if I can get some pictures of the whirlpools in the San Juans...Some up to about 100 feet in diameter and very impressive. As far as I can tell, they are formed by the rock formations and the rapid tidal shift.

[senormechanico]

Those are standing waves.
We have a big rip on a flood tide between our place and Port Townsend. Wave height varies with current, but 2 feet is not at all unusual.
There can be up to a ten knot over the bottom difference in water speed between the flood(northeast side) and the countercurrent (last of the ebb) on the other side.
It sounds just like a river, even when there's not breath of wind. You can hear it a mile or so away onshore at night if everything's still.

That rip is what makes the salmon fishing from shore so good at our neighborhood.

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

This next year I will see if I can get some pictures of the whirlpools in the San Juans...Some up to about 100 feet in diameter and very impressive.

Try to avoid taking the picture from the INSIDE of the whirlpool!

[Solitude]

You can find this in Englishbay in Vancouver. Tide comming in or out..... also there are standing waves off Pt Atkinson during tidal changes. Its very common. I have never seen a HAND though.

[s/v Jedi]

I have seen standing waves and they looked like waves that were... standing, not at all like the pyramid shapes seen in the photo's I posted. Are these pyramid shaped thingies popping up also called standing waves? I didn't think so but I also wouldn't know how to name them either....

I have seen strange shaped things in the water too but they were often caused by bait fish with hunters around. Just another possible explanation for the "hand" report.

ciao!
Nick.

[s/v Beth]

For some reason MP I always give them a wide berth. Currents like that in 300 foot depth of water scare the crap of me! But they are fun to look at from a distance! There is one just on the south west side of Lumini island that I have seen in the same place twice now.... It is almost always during a spring tide.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Get plenty of overfalls around here - strong tides / conflicting tidal streams over rocky bottom, some of which depending on tide height you can hit (below or above the water!).

Gives a very disturbed pattern to the water, albeit usually fairly flat - kinda like a Submarine diving.............or a Kracken surfacing

Always gives me a touch of the willies

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

I have seen standing waves and they looked like waves that were... standing, not at all like the pyramid shapes seen in the photo's I posted. Are these pyramid shaped thingies popping up also called standing waves? I didn't think so but I also wouldn't know how to name them either...

The term "standing wave" generally means that the wave goes back and forth between two fixed boundaries.
See ➥ Standing Waves - The Physics Hypertextbook

[s/v Jedi]

Hi Gord,

I'm afraid that definition you linked is very limited and doesn't include the standing waves I meant. This time, Wikipedia rules: Standing wave - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The difference is that a standing wave can occur in a stationary medium or in a moving medium. The going back and forth between two fixed boundaries is in a stationary medium. When the medium is moving in a direction opposite of wave travel (wave against current) you can get that wave that doesn't appear to move at all. Wikipedia includes both types.

The boca into Chaguaramas in Trinidad is a very good example as it has perfect standing waves (small ones) most of the time.

cheers,
Nick.

[Solitude]

Hi Jedi
I agree the small waves in your pic don't look at all like the standing waves I meant. The ones a Pt Atkinsson look like current running over rocks in a river. The waves are fairly stationary.

About the hand.... could it be something like a sub surfacing and diving again?

[hummingway]

I think the original post was a joke, it was a freak wave as in the hand was waving. I don't think it was meant as a riddle to be solved.