26-foot wave strikes cruise ship, killing 2

AP via MSNBC.com ^ | 03/03/10 | Staff

[OldDeckHand]

ATHENS, Greece - A 26-foot wave crashed into a cruise ship carrying nearly 2,000 people off the coast of France, smashing windshields and killing two people, Greek and Cypriot said Wednesday.

A Greek coast guard statement says another six people suffered light injuries on board the Cypriot-owned Louis Majesty.

In a statement, the cruise line said its Maltese ship was hit by "abnormal waves."

[OldDeckHand]

Weird. Perhaps a rogue wave, as there's no foul weather reported.

[1raider1]

Chile’s fault.

[FlashBack]

Obamao blames George W Bush.....

[rockabyebaby]

tsunami rerouted from saturday’s event in chile

[hsalaw]

Global warming.

[Bobalu]

[EBH]

Left over tsunami affect.

Vibrations will continue for a while.

‘course it could be climate change.

[Onerom99]

Rogue waves should be one of the natural wonders of the world.

Read up on them once.. Absolutely fascinating stuff.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

[biggerten]

THE PERFECT WAVE
By: Shel Silverstein

Dave McGunn was a surfin’ bum, half–crazed by the blazin’ sun.
From Waikiki to the Bering Sea, he rode ’em one by one.
Now he hung offshore ’bout a mile or more, out where the dolphins played,
And his wild eyes gleamed as he schemed and dreamed
To ride the perfect wave.

Oh, ride the perfect wave, Dave, ride the perfect wave.
If you wait it out and you don’t sell out, you may ride
The perfect wave.

He crouched in the spray and he waited all day till the sun gave way to the moon,
And his legs grew cold and he grew old and wrinkled like a prune.
And the years rolled by and the surf broke high and the 40–foot breakers sprayed.
But he sneered at ’em all, sayin’, “Too damn small; I’m waitin’
For the perfect wave.”

He was sleepin’ on his board when he woke to a roar as thunder shook the sea.
’Twas the dreaded California quake of 1973.
And he stared at the reef in disbelief, then paddled with tremblin’ hands
As a monstrous crashin’ tidal wave came roarin’ ’cross the land.

It was 12 miles high and it filled the sky, the color of boilin’ blood.
And cities fell beneath its swell and mountains turned to mud.
Its deadly surf engulfed the earth and left not a thing alive.
And high on the tip with a smile on his lip was Davey hangin’ five.
He hit the top of the Golden Gate at a thousand miles an hour,
Over the top of the Empire State and the tip of the Eiffel Tower.
And as he wiped out, you could hear him shout as he plunged to a watery grave,
“Hey hi dee hi, I’m glad to die –– I’ve rode
The perfect wave.”

[Don Corleone]

If it ain’t Boeing I ain’t going!

[hennie pennie]

strange oddity

[WOBBLY BOB]

I saw that episode of Gilligan’s Island.

http://surfing.wikia.com/wiki/Big_Man_on_Little_Stick:_1965_episode_of_Gilligan’s_Island

[Ramius]

I’m not sure how a 26ft wave is going to reach glass “windshields” on that boat (whatever they mean by that). Even taken from abeam, a 26ft wave might give them a little roll, but it just doesn’t sound big enough to do much in the way of damage. I’m guessing there’s some part of the story that the reporter missed.

[JoeProBono]

Freak Wave

[andy58-in-nh]

I’ve never heard that one before, and I’ve always liked Shel Silverstein’s work. This one really caught my attention, because it’s almost a parody of one of my favorite poets of all time: Robert Service.

[dr_lew]

In other views of this ship you can see a row of windows right at deck level near the bow. The CNN report said that the deaths occurred in "a public area", and I think this must have been the "Royal Fireworks" lounge as seen on the Deck Layout page when you click on the Atlantic deck. ( Make sure to slide the horizontal bar to the right to see the bow area of the deck. )

That had to be quite a shock. I think what happened was that the ship rode up and plunged into the base of the next wave, so the bow "dug in", and the water rushed over the deck and up against those windows.

[andy58-in-nh]

I’ve been in 20-foot seas in a considerably smaller vessel, and suffice it to say: it’ll make a God-fearing man out of the staunchest atheist.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

/

[OldDeckHand]

'I’m not sure how a 26ft wave is going to reach glass “windshields” on that boat (whatever they mean by that)."

I haven't seen the damage, but I'm guessing it probably broke over the bow. Another possibility and problem is that rogue waves frequently travel in a direction perpendicular to the prevailing sea. IOW, you could be headed directly into normal seas, but then get broadsided by a rogue wave. This can be especially problematic if you happen to be in a trough of the normal sea; maximizing the damage potential.

Until pictures of the vessel emerge, it's going to be difficult to tell precisely what happened.