Odd wave

DArcy

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Feb 11, 2017
1,702
Islander Freeport 36 Ottawa
I always thought rogue waves were just bigger but in @JamesG161 picture above and in the video it seems they can also be much closer together which seemed to cause more havoc than just the size.
 
Oct 22, 2014
21,088
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Odd because it is bigger than the others experienced.
But that is not really odd. There is not enough information in the video to explain the larger wave or the angle change as the boat is struck more on the beam then riding over the tops.

There is certainly the sound of wind driving the boat. This would imply that there is a storm near by or one had passed recently. Even after the passage of a storm the sea is not instantly calm. Confused seas and waves can stick around for up to 36 hours after a storm front passage.

Now Odd is SQUARE WAVES:yikes:
 

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Oct 1, 2007
1,858
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
looks like any other day on the great lakes!
And on RI Sound on a nice summer day with a 10-20 kt sw and various currents due to flood/ebb in Narragansett and Buzzard's Bay
 
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Likes: Apex

PaulK

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Dec 1, 2009
1,239
Sabre 402 Southport, CT
île de Ré is in the bay of Biscay. Lots of converging wave patterns there. They hold surfing competitions further south on that coast, in Biarritz. It's not because the waves are small.
 
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Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
What I find interesting is in the start of the video, it is somewhat flat (compared to later). White caps visible. Then he starts hitting a few waves but no deep trough. But just a few seconds before, he hits a few crests, then a large crest followed by a deep trough. I think that is what got him, but where did that crest come from? That, to me, is what is odd.
 
Oct 22, 2014
21,088
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
If it was up here in the Strait, it could come from any number of Tugs with Barges or Tankers/Container ships just out of sight traveling at 20 knots. They move a lot of water and it can go from relatively calm to 4-6 feet in a heart beat.
 

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,772
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
In my experience, it's always the wave you don't think is going to drench you that does and the one you did, that doesn't. But in this case it seems that one was a drencher from the start. I don't know why, but they seems to happen now and then on windward runs and probably off the wind too, but they are less noticeable.
However, I've found no correlation to any particular pattern if one is deep sea. It definitely is not what I would consider a "rogue wave" by about 75 feet.
Great shot though and I hope the picture taking device survived.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,401
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Some of the early footage looks like 2 different wave trains crossing, or as @Apex says, most any day on the Great Lakes.

When wave trains cross the seas get funny and sometimes square waves form. At least Lake Ontario has them quite frequently after a front comes through. The old wave pattern persists after the wind shifts and the new waves start to intersect. Sometimes the waves accentuate each other and peaks form, sometimes you get to surf waves while sailing upwind, sometimes the waves cancel each other out. It all depends on the time of the waves when they intersect.
 
Mar 26, 2011
3,410
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
Normal variation, particularly if the wind changes strength or direction. Could even be a distant wake just reaching you. Normal.
 
Jun 16, 2020
71
Hinckley Sou’wester 30 Falmouth ME
Kind of cool you captured it on video. Would have been harder just describe.