Freakwave of 30 meters high. Vessel: Mv.Metsaborg. Company: Wagenborg. Place of freakwave: North Atlantic. Time: 1-2 February 2008 Ship Length x Breadth: 135 m X 17 m
Remember that most of people in history that dealt with waves like this did so in a ship made of wood. I struggle to think of what an incredible ordeal an ocean crossing must have been.
They really didn't think that; even back in 240 B.C.E. a Greek mathematician named Eratosthenes came up with a clever way of estimating the actual circumference of the planet. Contrary to popular belief, no one important thought that the earth was flat. Flat earth believers were basically the conspiracy theorists of the day; it had been proven the earth was round long before. Columbus' claim was that the earth was much smaller than it was and was known to be. Since knowledge of the American landmass lying between the routes was not well known, it was assumed that the distance to Asia was open ocean and ships of the time period could not carry the provisions necessary to make such a trip. Columbus was wrong about the size of the earth and had he not blundered into the American continent, his ships would have starved at sea long before reaching Asia.
@@stangneshakon Right, but the Norse tribes that discovered a route to the Americas were not fully aware of the scale of their discovery nor was it relayed to the rest civilized world by the time Columbus was alive.
Regardless of the flat earth concept, the technology of wooden boats were WAY too fragile. Hundreds of thousands were lost at sea because of these waves. Scary shit.
My dad was a Merchant Marine and he sailed for 42 years... He always said, "no matter how big you think you are, the ocean is always bigger...you can be on a crest at one moment then looking up at a 60 ft wall of water the next".
@@MrShanester117 naaah yeaah …. and you’re a dead-set asshole, who clearly struggles to comprehend basic words, making it near on impossible for you to consider things beyond the superficial ….. yep …. … so aaahhhh … what did your dad teach you ? How to be a wanker ?
I worked in the North Sea on trawlers and got to see first hand how crazy it could get. Best example was trawling one day and it was stunning - barely a wind and perfect for us. Some older experienced crew suddenly began running around screaming. The trawler engine went to full revs, we altered course and as fast they could were winching the nets back up from the sea bed. A crewman grabbed me and began shouting orders what to be doing. As we worked furiously to those tasks, I shouted to him what was happening. I'll never forget his words as he almost shouted and spat them out with a fear in his eyes - "Green water. It's green water. Did you not see it". I did see it but thought it was the sun moving behind a small cloud - not so. Seems that those old men knew a thing or two and that a sudden change in the sea there meant a terrible storm was coming in fast. I could see nothing and half laughed at him but he was furious. He screamed at me to stop and to keep working fast. I kid ye not - within 10 minutes of that initial change in the colour of the sea water a storm was brewing. It had come from nowhere. It appeared above us and around us. The winds and waves picked up fast. So fast that we still hadn't prepared for it fully and the heavy fishing net was still being winched up. We reached a point where we only had the net to finish bringing up. Some men held my upper arms with their hands and stared into my eyes. "Whatever happens, stay with the flotsun. If you see something floating, stuff it into your clothing" I was told. I was in a daze as they told me. It meant that they expected the trawler to sink. We wore floatation clothing and would float for the most but the sea was the killer - hypothermia. If we went in we had around 8 minutes before we'd die. Rescue would not reach us in time if we did and the men were telling me my body would float (if I did what they said) and my family would get closure on my death. The net was heavy and still coming up. The weight of the net meant that the trawler barely had the strength to go over the huge swell that had formed. The trawler was quite literally going through the huge waves at they pummeled the hull. We were in a sheltered part of the deck and would watch as the waves went over us and we'd exit the other side. The white foamy water and the more green solid colours was beautiful to watch. Eventually we got the net up. Too dangerous to lift it onto the deck and instead we chained it to the side. The whole time the skipper making a rapid race to a safe port. We eventually made it though coastguards were aware of us. They'd kept in constant contact throughout. That was the day I saw just how dangerous the sea could be.
I've seen these sudden sea storms from land. They are so vicious from the beach, I can't imagine how terrifying it must be out on the ocean. The north sea has a temperament all of its own. Nothing compares to what you described.
My Neighbour was a north sea fisherman skipper, all his working life, his son told me it is always better that you didnt learn to swim, your suffering well not be so long, If the boat goes down.
It's wonderful how RU-vid does that. Starts with an unemployed Brazilian boiling an egg and finishes with a Thai girl pole dancing in a seedy bar in Phuket...or so I am told, eh? lol.
Trust me you'd laugh cause crying isn't an option. Your on the ship there is nothing you can do so you watch the waves and laugh at why you're doing this for a living
Please note the diagnal approach to the incoming waves. I believe this is done to minimise hull stress by keeping the crest of the wave traveling from front to back while keeping the ship as level as possible. A similar approach is utilised when going over large obsticles in an off road vehicle to minimise thumping and keeping things as level as possible. If the ship were to head into the wave bow first, it would rise up from the front. The bow would get over the wave crest and then the rest of the ship would thump over the wave causing a catapult effect to the back. This would be very stressful on the structure. If the ship just let the wave hit them on the side, it could capsize the vessel. The diagnal approach seems the best approach to the waves.
@@neovo903 Unfortunately, it is not a guaranteed method. It is just like going over an off road obsticle in the same manner does not guarantee the vehicle will not get stuck. The best way to assure ship safety is stay on calm seas. The best way to assure your vehicle does not get stuck is stay on flat ground sigh no obsticles. But what is the fun in that?
Very lucky the ship wasn't made out of cardboard or cardboard derivatives. Not to forget how difficult it would have been tow it out of the environment.
omg where was this from? i remember it was hilarious but not the title of the video nvm found it again yay ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3m5qxZm_JqM.html
Mate!!!!! That is terrifying. Either it was 30 metered or not, that's irrelevant. The ship was pretty close to snapping in two by the looks of things, or at least suffering irreversible damages. Thumbs up to the welders, ship builders and especially the crew and captain, if he was steering the ship.
@@thanesgames9685 Big difference between a rusty 50 year old ex soviet coastal vessel and a proper maintained 20 year old sea going vessel aint it? Probably also properly loaded. Again that vessel was not near breaking point and the auto pilot still wants kuddos.
As a person who plans on, once retired, go cruising the world in a small (40-50 ft) sailboat. This thing really freaks me out. Since I learnt about 'rogue waves', I am rethinking the whole sailing thing.
A wave like that hit a large trawler that I was on. It bent the front bulkhead and knocked out the primary radar. Also damage the secondary. We went back in using the foghorn at night like sonar. That's the last time I went offshore.
i promise you that you didn't take a wave like that in a fishing boat my guy. that is easily 20 meters. probably closer to 30 meters. that's 100 feet for the americans in the crowd. this is one of the biggest waves anyone has ever seen and survived. drilling platforms and maybe the biggest container ships in the world can take a wave that size, and nothing else.
@@plack_benis382 fam taking one look at your name i'd assume you have a tough time hitting the bowl when you piss or pour milk into your cereal. don't talk to a man like me again.
The catch 22 is that if the wave is tall enough and steep enough, the ship hull can crack as the front portion becomes unsupported while the stern is still in wave.
For those wondering how such waves are formed: When multiple smaller waves with the right frequency come together they can result in a way bigger wave.
Yes, you can get simple linear addition with different wave and swell sets. Guessing thats what’s happening here since the biggest wave is not strikingly larger (like 2x) or steeper than the surrounding waves. But there are sometimes non-linear effects where energy from a wave group area gets drained and refocused into (usually) one extremely tall and steep wave compared to its surroundings.
You actually captured a rogue wave on camera! Thats probably the biggest wave I have ever seen on film - probably bigger than all of the "biggest ever" waves surfed on Oahu. Thanks for posting. Shows how even a full sized ship can be sunk.
No. People have surfed 100 foot waves. That was probably close to it. And it’s not hard to sink a full size ship like that. Especially the longer it is, the easier it is to break.
@@davelowesky8054 Really, the premise of The Poseidon Adventure was that rogue waves are a known hazard, even though exaggerated in the movie. With all the vessels afloat at any one moment, it's pretty much inevitable that a great ship eventually is in the path of a tremendous wave, or even a tsunami.
Captain did a great job rolling to port over that wave. Imagine if he went head on? That would seriously be testing the engineering of that beautiful ship.
@@Seahorn_ Can you clarify what had nothing to do with the wave? My comment is about the great job the captain did rolling over the wave. How is it the captain's skillful traversal of the wave has nothing to do with the wave? wtf m8
@@forgotaboutbre That vessel is in a gale. A vessel will adjust course and speed to better deal with the waves when in gale. They did that too (long time before the sea state were to this level). I am 99.999999% sure that they use the auto pilot, to steer the vessel. Even then, in that condition. That rolling that you see is just the vessel reaction to the wave(s) there are no humans at that moment involved with steering. The humans on the bridge (most probably only the officer of the watch) just braced themselves when the waves past (and hopefully the chairs did not break as they have flimsy chairs on these vessels)
@@Seahorn_ Oh okay, in that case I withdraw my compliment to the captain, and re-apply my compliment to the auto-pilot software, which does a fantastic job at navigating the swell in a way that minimizes hull stresses.
What is really interesting is the rushing sea foam prior to the large wave, which gives the impression of surface water moving faster than deeper water which is acting like a seashore and creating the white foam. This is the Mv.Metsaborg and this video is the only verified footage of a freak wave measuring 98ft from trough to crest. Incredibly scary... it's hard to see that height because the video compresses the image! But I remember reading about it at the time that scientist were able to measure it by the angles against ship measurements etc or something like that.
I have seen 110 to 170 ft tall waves, only once you see them you believe them and you never forget, tho you may wish they were never true and with that, the possibility to see them again in your sea life. They truly make you feel in place, and not just you but even your ship regardless sizes... they moved slower than those, towering above like an elephant passing by you, they were like deadly pyramids thousands of tons above passing by our Navy carrier. They were between two to three times our size, but "the valleys" we were forced to go through may have at times make them see higher. Once, all you could see of horizon all around us was a sea wall made from different ones, like if we were a rubber ducky going down the tub drain, it raised the hairs of my arms. Thankfully none of them crashed on us or dripped from their tops even a few hundreds of tons of solid spray our way upon our flight deck, it would have caused some major harm.
What makes the wave more horrifying is seeing how old the filming is as this would be something you see from the 196ps but in color as the old frame in the video makes it seem much more realistic in a way.
+Hanibaltherogue A wave a lot bigger and steeper then the highest other waves around ... whats the name? Freak wave! what else? It was quite some luck, the wave was breaking a bit later, wrong timepoint might have broken the vessel.
Lightningchase1973 It's hard to be sure just how large this wave is, but a rogue wave has to be at least twice the significant wave height (the average height) in an area. This one doesn't *appear* to be double the average.
respect to the captain, what a control of such a rare rare adrenalized situation .....very talented to keep a big machine like that in even bigger waves
The calm inside the cabin creates such a contrast with the ferocity of the waves outside -- just a few objects falling to the floor indicates any disturbance! And he's able to LAUGH!!! Kudos!!! 😺💕🐾
It is a rollercoaster ride (and quite literally gut spilling if seasick) in 30/40 foot waves if you are at either end of the ship in particular, as I've experienced on a far larger ship (the good old QE2 to be precise before her retirement to Dubai in 2008). Using a lift/elevator in the above mentioned weather is a very strange feeling too and can be risky so far as the lift/elevator jamming in the shaft or otherwise stopping due to the ships movement. 60 foot waves would be the above magnified somewhat to say the least!
Spent 3 years in the U.S. Navy sailing the Atlantic and Pacific. We got involved in so many storms that it became like a walk in the park. Just turned over and went back sleep.
Mmm, I'm glad you mentioned that you saw it on Radar and fetched you camera. . Thinking and actting to share the information and pictures; that's what RU-vid is all about -thanks for posting. cheers.
+Robert Young It had it's back broken. The Great Lakes are some of the most dangerous bodies of water in the World in the winter. As huge as some of these ships are, there is always something out there waiting to sink it.
These ships are like cities on the water. And these waves make it look like a toy. Now imagine being on that ship and seeing those waves in person. Terrifying
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
These waves put tremendous amount of strain on the ships hull, modern ship building is impressive, steel ships have broken in half before from 30 metre waves.
I met a ship captain that showed me footage of a 100 ft rogue wave crashing into the 1000+ ft oil tanker he was piloting. It damaged several catwalks that went between structures on the deck. Crazy stuff!
Wood tends to have natural floatyness to it while metal sinks like a rock. Idk.. people underestimate wooden ships. They’re more sturdy than they may appear. Tho I’d imagine that many were smashed by great waves too without a doubt.
30 metre or not, they were in real danger as after the wave broke you can notice the ship undulating. This is how ships break in half when the structural safety limits are exceeded and the fate of all on board is then sealed.
That looks bloody scary. Thanks for posting the statistics of your ship sounds like the size of freight ships that we get here in the Channel Islands (because of small harbours). I think I would have been seasick if I was on there in these waves. Luckily you did not have to bail out into a liferaft or the waves would have looked a million times bigger.
It's unreal imagining the stresses on the hull of a ship. When stretched between two waves think of the weight in the middle. Then when balanced on a wave like a see saw imagine the force trying to break hull in half.