Record wave

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That is a huge wave but while it may be the tallest recorded wave it certainly is not the tallest wave ever. Just happened to be where there was a buoy. And before anyone jumps me about it, no I have never seen such a wave. About the largest estimated wave I have seen is about 30 feet. Not my estimate either but the Captains, in the middle of the ocean between Cape Flattery and Unimak Pass.
 
Wave off of Vancouver Island's Cape Scott recorded at 101' in 1993. Hmmm?
 
Wonder why this 2013 wave is being reported as news now?
 
It's the certification time for these records is my guess.

The record wind gusts were hotly contested after Hurricane season and how long one took to get certified.
 
Curious what the actual measurement technique is. GPS elevation? That can be dodgy based on sampling rate, velocity of bouy, quality of signal, etc.

Another technique I heard of was a water pressure sensor a certain depth down which can measure the water column above. Measuring weirdness gets into that too.

Thinking more about this, I am scratching my head on how to do this accurately.
 
Probably why it takes so long to certify....
 
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To clarify it is the biggest ever recorded by a buoy not the biggest ever reported... A guy has been reported surfing a nearly 24m waves by witnesses in Nazaret Portugal, a place well known for it gigantic waves. Even bigger rogue waves were reported, the only difference is that they were not measured by instruments.

Hopefully our Friend Richard will not meet one of these monster!
 
Theoritically there is none. Wave are sin waves and in theory there is no maximum amplitude. Physically there is but very hard to say which one as many things are involved like wind force, gravitational forces, depth, frequency, friction, and many others that make wave unpredictable.
 
Fifty years ago there was a very large earthquake in AK. Lots of damage, new rock hazards and displacement. An inlet not too far from Seward had trees toppled by wave action - the bathtub effect. Tree upfooting and damage was many hundreds of feet above normal water level. Sure glad I wasn't anchored there.
 
I believe that large waves have been recorded all over the oceans with satellite radar units and they are not as rare as previously thought. The fixed float method of finding big waves is going to miss most. In the late 1960s while on a CG flagged DE in the North Atlantic during a hurricane rescue mission the NOAA component of our crew their job was weather recording measured waves in the 50-60 foot range. Absolutely awesome even from the bridge of a DE. Happy ending everybody came home alive and only slightly battered.
 
sunchaser said:
Fifty years ago there was a very large earthquake in AK. Lots of damage, new rock hazards and displacement. An inlet not too far from Seward had trees toppled by wave action - the bathtub effect. Tree upfooting and damage was many hundreds of feet above normal water level. Sure glad I wasn't anchored there.
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Well in that case like for tsunami the wave is inducted by the shock wave so not sure these are part of their recording as they are not ocean waves per say.
 
Lou_tribal said:
Well in that case like for tsunami the wave is inducted by the shock wave so not sure these are part of their recording as they are not ocean waves per say.
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Correct, all they do is kill thousands of people every decade or so when they do occur.
 
sunchaser said:
Correct, all they do is kill thousands of people every decade or so when they do occur.
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Was talking about their recording of highest waves, nothing to see with the number of people killed.
 
Here ya go Tator
Surprisingly, 100-foot-high waves have recently been measured off the west coast of Canada. Commencing just south of Vancouver Island and continuing north to the British Columbia–Alaska border, the Canadian government had 16 weather buoys. Some were placed between Vancouver Island and the mainland, others in Hecate Strait, and a number offshore on the west side of Vancouver and Queen Charlotte islands. During a storm on December 10, 1993, the East Dellwood buoy, located 61 nautical miles west of Cape Scott, recorded an extreme wave of 101 feet. The wave occurred at a time when the buoy recorded significant wave heights of 40 feet. Earlier, on December 20, 1991, the south Hecate buoy measured a wave that was 100 feet high. On December 13, 1992, the West Dixon entrance buoy was swamped by an 85-foot-high wave. It seems as though the waters around Vancouver and Queen Charlotte islands would be a good place to avoid during the month of December.27
 
sunchaser said:
Sure glad I wasn't anchored there.
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If I recall a documentary was made about that or a similar event in Alaska and somebody was anchored in that bay and survived. Said it was literally hell unleashed upon earth and sounded as though a hundred freight trains had sped through simultaneously.
 
78puget-trawler said:
Here ya go Tator
Surprisingly, 100-foot-high waves have recently been measured off the west coast of Canada. Commencing just south of Vancouver Island and continuing north to the British Columbia–Alaska border, the Canadian government had 16 weather buoys. Some were placed between Vancouver Island and the mainland, others in Hecate Strait, and a number offshore on the west side of Vancouver and Queen Charlotte islands. During a storm on December 10, 1993, the East Dellwood buoy, located 61 nautical miles west of Cape Scott, recorded an extreme wave of 101 feet. The wave occurred at a time when the buoy recorded significant wave heights of 40 feet. Earlier, on December 20, 1991, the south Hecate buoy measured a wave that was 100 feet high. On December 13, 1992, the West Dixon entrance buoy was swamped by an 85-foot-high wave. It seems as though the waters around Vancouver and Queen Charlotte islands would be a good place to avoid during the month of December.27
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Thank you. I avoid the outside most of the year! And, I was asking about non-tsunami waves.
 
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