Monster waves?

It has always been to our local sailors that monster waves happen on the south east coast of southern Africa when the wind and current are right.

Picking the time/weather to level Durban for Cape Town is very important.
 
I don't doubt the fact about monster waves at all.

Biggest I've been in on a small boat were about 15m with a relatively very short wavelength whilst delivering Troms Explorer (http://www.troms-explorer.co.uk) from Padstow to Tromso in the far north of Norway.

It was a very breezy day (probably F8), but we'd been in the shelter of the fjords and as we broke out into open water to round the Western Cape we realised it was a little "choppy".

It's about an hours run in open water from leaving the fjord to rounding the Western Cape to sheltered water once again.

Coming towards us you could occasionally see a coastal cargo ship that was also clearly finding the conditions rather challenging.

Troms Explorer is a power catamaran of about a 12m waterline length and wave piercing bows. Her balance is such that in a followings see she can display "interesting" handling characteristics as both bows act like giant rudders if you come down a wave anything off dead straight.
These 15m rollers with breaking crests were on the port quarter and for the first five or six miles it was certainly a little sphincter twitching to say the least. Once we got the measure of it the trip became more like a superb fair ground ride. Well it was certainly fun for myself and engineer Oistein. We were at the helm "whooping" and "yeeharring" as we drop straight down the face of these things. The owner, Holger, was a little less excited. In fact he was in total silence throughout the hour or so experience. He was over on the port side of the helm area and was clinging on to the dashboard for grim death. His whole side of the boat was steemed up and he looked very pale indeed.
As we rounded the Western Cape and into the sheltered water of it's lee I had to put my sunnies on. On the horizon a watery, but bright Sun was dazzling my eyes. I looked at my watch and saw it was five past 12. Midnight. My first ever glance of the midnight sun.

Oistein looked at me and chuckled. He looked over to Holger (who I must point out is a personal friends) and in his best English he said, "Holger.... Foook Awwwf", he then babbled something in Norwegian which I was later told translated to a slightly less polite version of "River Boater".

Ositein, our engineer and relief skipper spends much of his time aboard proper North Sea standby vessels and to him this was normal.
Me, I selected the boat for the job she would be doing and project managed her build and then, just for fun, delivered her.
Holger, the owner and skipper is more used to staying in the fjords, but his boat is now rather successful working out of Arnoy and Skjervoy she takes anglers fishing for the giant Cod that are known to be in these waters.
She's also used for eco trips to see the whales, glaciers, eagles and so on and I believe she is often used for filming documentaries.

Troms Explorer is ugly as sin, but certainly showed herself to be able to take some serious seas.
Not sure I would choose to go through seas like that again on purpose, but it certainly got the adrenalin running.

Tom
 
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and in the Med`---- TWO PEOPLE have been killed and 16 injured as giant waves crashed into a cruise ship off Spain’s East Coast.

The 8m-high waves hit the front of Louis Majesty yesterday, smashing windows on its deck, as it sailed about 25 n-miles off Girona

One Italian and one German passenger were killed.

It had been travelling to Genoa in Italy from Cartagena
 
Rogershaw said:
It has always been to our local sailors that monster waves happen on the south east coast of southern Africa when the wind and current are right.

Picking the time/weather to level Durban for Cape Town is very important.
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They do and in a very spectacular way....

The place to see them is off East London and out above the edge of the Continental Shelf You may remember a passenger ship sinking there not that many years ago almost within sight of land. There was an instance some years ago where a Southampton bound Ben Line container ship was approaching the South African Coast after crossing the Indian Ocean. It was night time and the ocean wasn t particularly rough. The ship then crossed the edge of the continental shelf where it encountered one of these large waves head on. The resulting collision deflected the bow and number one hatch downwards at an angle of something near 10 degrees by bending the ship!!!!!

The ship had to go into Capetown for substantial repairs.
 
I see a monster wave everytime we leave my Mother in laws house. Wish it were East London.................or some place further......................
 
Bilgediver said:
They do and in a very spectacular way....

The place to see them is off East London and out above the edge of the Continental Shelf You may remember a passenger ship sinking there not that many years ago almost within sight of land. There was an instance some years ago where a Southampton bound Ben Line container ship was approaching the South African Coast after crossing the Indian Ocean. It was night time and the ocean wasn t particularly rough. The ship then crossed the edge of the continental shelf where it encountered one of these large waves head on. The resulting collision deflected the bow and number one hatch downwards at an angle of something near 10 degrees by bending the ship!!!!!

The ship had to go into Capetown for substantial repairs.
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Yes - that was in the early 70's.

Actually it was quite rough and the Ben Line ship was going too fast with the bow digging in to every wave - taking green water f'ward etc.

She actually split in two with both 'halves' staying afloat. Ben Ledi ???
 
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