52 foot seas anyone?

Just happened to be cruising the internet this morning and noticed the weather off the Aleutians. Hmm, how would you boys with the Grand Banks or bad-ass Nordies enjoy this weather?

52 foot seas and 70 knot hurricane force winter winds!

The nice, boring Persian Gulf is starting to sound not so bad after all

Here's the link, just so you check for small-craft warning before you head out this morning for some enjoyable fishing:
https://earth.nullschool.net/#curre...ographic=-188.37,48.21,871/loc=171.893,41.517

The OP’s hubris aside, it reminds me of this vid I found before thinking about the thread of “heavy seas.” Here’s a ship we all own, with it’s bow 70’ high chopping the top 10” off waves and throwing it 400’ back. Great video:

No thanks.

Pretty common up there.

When stationed on Kodiak the skipper used to laugh at the guys in Miami when they were having a hurricane. He would joke that he had 3 hurricane foce stoms at the same time in Kodiaks OPAREA often multiple times a winter.

We punched through a storm where we had above gale force winds for 5 days and one day/night og 60 foot waves enroute from Seattle to Dutch Harbor.

30 footers were common in the N. Pacific, but the much smaller waves in the Bearing Sea were mord like N Atlantic waves...much more uncomfortable for their size.

psneeld said:

Pretty common up there.

When stationed on Kodiak the skipper used to laugh at the guys in Miami when they were having a hurricane. He would joke that he had 3 hurricane foce stoms at the same time in Kodiaks OPAREA often multiple times a winter.

We punched through a storm where we had above gale force winds for 5 days and one day/night og 60 foot waves enroute from Seattle to Dutch Harbor.

30 footers were common in the N. Pacific, but the much smaller waves in the Bearing Sea were mord like N Atlantic waves...much more uncomfortable for their size.

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Are you military?

USCG retired.

I've had many times I wished it would go down to 52'. This isn't 52' but it eventually got to that. This is the start of the Thanksgiving storm of 1983, it blew over 100 for three days and our turkey was still dry. That's me with my hand on the gallows and the trawler is the 90' Endurance out of New Bedford.

Fish53 said:

I've had many times I wished it would go down to 52'.View attachment 84108 This isn't 52' but it eventually got to that. This is the start of the Thanksgiving storm of 1983, it blew over 100 for three days and our turkey was still dry. That's me with my hand on the gallows and the trawler is the 90' Endurance out of New Bedford.

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Yikes! Great shot!

psneeld said:

Pretty common up there.

When stationed on Kodiak the skipper used to laugh at the guys in Miami when they were having a hurricane. He would joke that he had 3 hurricane foce stoms at the same time in Kodiaks OPAREA often multiple times a winter.

We punched through a storm where we had above gale force winds for 5 days and one day/night og 60 foot waves enroute from Seattle to Dutch Harbor.

30 footers were common in the N. Pacific, but the much smaller waves in the Bearing Sea were mord like N Atlantic waves...much more uncomfortable for their size.

Click to expand...

While I agree that you seldom see the same seas in the Bering that you get in the Gulf of Alaska by far the largest sea I've been in was on the Grand Banks in the N. Atlantic and an equal in the North Sea. Interestingly the largest accurately recorded open ocean wave was in the central Pacific, 120 ft. it's the distance between crests that makes the biggest difference though.

Forecasting has improved tremendously in the last 25 years or so. I remember a spring break weekend windsurfing trip that turned epic and tragic for some in 1993. The luxury of now having a 64k ft view a keyboard click away should keep most people in port unless their job requires they be out there. I wouldn’t even consider taking one of the new FPBs out in that forecast. Just because a boat can do it doesn’t mean you should. We are pleasure boaters after all and if it isn’t fun your probably not doing something right.

Fear is a fun topic. Seems it should be instinctual but it's individual.

In Shipboard Firefighting Class some of guys were skipping to the back of the line to try to avoid going in the metal box with the fire. Some were grizzled, old fishing crew who routinely faced 50 foot seas without breaking a sweat. "As long as it doesn't make me spill my coffee".

There are definitely direct-connect, visceral, panic-inducing experiences for people but they are individual.

Southern Ocean is no charmer either.

The icebreaker I was on, lost the top 39 foot landing craft that was nestled with another that were lashed down 30 feet above the waterline...on the trip before mine. Thankfully my 4 crossings to Antarctica were fairly calm in comparison.

Only place on earth where the wind doesn't encounter land circling the globe. Another place where it gets ugly fast, and doesn't have to be record heights to be really ugly.

It is funny Boat, what fears can do and how different they can be.

Boat said:

Fear is a fun topic. Seems it should be instinctual but it's individual.

In Shipboard Firefighting Class some of guys were skipping to the back of the line to try to avoid going in the metal box with the fire. Some were grizzled, old fishing crew who routinely faced 50 foot seas without breaking a sweat. "As long as it doesn't make me spill my coffee".

There are definitely direct-connect, visceral, panic-inducing experiences for people but they are individual.

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I've never had fear but I was very concerned a few times.

Boat said:

In Shipboard Firefighting Class some of guys were skipping to the back of the line to try to avoid going in the metal box with the fire.

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I still remember that box - wow that was fun! It was like 500 degrees in there or something [emoji91]

No problem. Throw out the sea anchor and ride it out. I'll be back in my bunk dockside.

hmmm...in 1954, i was on a 57ft purseiner, out of gig harbor, wa, we spent several weeks fishing in the false pass/kodiak areas, went thru false pass, then turned south to port mohler, stayed and fished a few days, then headed back to false pass... an 18 hr trip for us. after we got a coupla hours into the trip, the wind got up to over 100 mph, on our nose! we figured the waves were 50ft, with a 20+ wind wave on top! normaly with a 9 man crew, the skipper, cook, and engineer never went on wheel watch, that left 6. wheel watch was always with 2 peaple, on 3hrs, and off 6hrs...we had green water going over the top of our mast! at one point, i had to crawl back to our seine skiff, which was lashed down on our stern, and pull the plug to drain the water out...all out net was in the hatch for ballast, and the hatch was battened down! it was a trip i`ll nevr forget!!...clyde

Fish53 said:

I've had many times I wished it would go down to 52'.View attachment 84108 This isn't 52' but it eventually got to that. This is the start of the Thanksgiving storm of 1983, it blew over 100 for three days and our turkey was still dry. That's me with my hand on the gallows and the trawler is the 90' Endurance out of New Bedford.

Click to expand...

I believe that picture was taken by Neal Parent of Searsmont Maine. Called “Fishing the Banks” I have a print in my office. Maybe you could sign it someday? I think that Neal was a friend of my sister who has since passed.

Easting said:

I believe that picture was taken by Neal Parent of Searsmont Maine. Called “Fishing the Banks” I have a print in my office. Maybe you could sign it someday? I think that Neal was a friend of my sister who has since passed.

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Yes it was, I think he got slightly more than he bargained for trying for pictures on that trip, blew a bit for days. I don't believe I'm celebrity enough for a signature, although my ex-wife liked them on the child support checks. Have you seen the pictures of when the storm got bad? I've seen worse farther north but that was a good one for Georges.

And I thought it was bad...

Anemometer blew out at 47 kt in 12 foot waves in the Gulf of Mexico. Guess it wasn't so bad after all.

Whole lotta nope!



The worst I've been in was 12 to14's in my dad's 25ft Delta. The other boat that was fishing with us said you couldn't see the tops of our outriggers when we were in the trough. The most scared I have ever been was at night. We were going out of Sebastian inlet to do a night dive. Everything was going good till we got about 7 miles out. The waves started dropping out from under us. Free falling for only a second or two feels like an eternity. That was the first and only time my dad made me and my brother put on life preservers and site down behind the cabin door.

psneeld said:

Southern Ocean is no charmer either.

The icebreaker I was on, lost the top 39 foot landing craft that was nestled with another that were lashed down 30 feet above the waterline...on the trip before mine. Thankfully my 4 crossings to Antarctica were fairly calm in comparison.

Only place on earth where the wind doesn't encounter land circling the globe. Another place where it gets ugly fast, and doesn't have to be record heights to be really ugly.

It is funny Boat, what fears can do and how different they can be.

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What ships and years? I did trips to sea ice in the late 70's to the 90's on the Burton Island, Westwind, Glacier and Polar Sea and Star

Artic Winter West 83 Polar Star, Deep Freeze 84 Glacier, Arctic Summer East 85 Northwind, Arctic Winter West 86 Polar Sea. Not positive of the dates, but real close in calendar time.

I think the largest seas I have been in were around 30' in a good blow crossing the Gulf of Alaska between Unimak Pass and Cape Flattery. That's a good fair distance, especially with two barges in tow. I have also seen swells that large with no wind to speak of rolling in off the ocean towards WA, near Cape Flattery coming up the coast from Astoria, OR with a tow.

BIG CAT said:

We were going out of Sebastian inlet to do a night dive. Everything was going good till we got about 7 miles out.

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What kind of diving are you doing 7 miles out of Sebastian? Sounds like you're reaching into the Gulf Stream. How deep is the bottom there?


(I used to live in Merritt Island. Pop still does)

78puget-trawler said:

I think the largest seas I have been in were around 30' in a good blow crossing the Gulf of Alaska between Unimak Pass and Cape Flattery. That's a good fair distance, especially with two barges in tow. I have also seen swells that large with no wind to speak of rolling in off the ocean towards WA, near Cape Flattery coming up the coast from Astoria, OR with a tow.

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That's about the largest I've experienced, although the average wave height was more likely in the 20's. Cruising south from Cape Flattery on my way to California. 34nm out. The Wood Freeman gave up the ghost so we hand steered for days in that crap.

Funny thing is we had this huge sea-lion chasing us. I never thought they would head that far out to sea. I suppose he was looking for some fish-gut handouts, or perhaps directions back to nice dry land

When we checked in with the traffic system at Tofino, they said they didn't notice us in the sea scatter! Skipper who got seasick pretty easy, managed a laugh and told them, "that's because we've been down inside it all night!"

https://youtu.be/PmlTk_3NN_g

Nice video how elastic big ships is high seas...

NBs

North Baltic sea said:

https://youtu.be/PmlTk_3NN_g

Nice video how elastic big ships is high seas...

NBs

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Amazing what steel will take. Ore carriers on the Great Lakes have a passageway almost the length of the ship on each side of the cargo bays and on a 1000' ship in weather it looks like you're looking down a twenty foot piece of hose while someone twists it. Thanks for the video.

Reading some of your stories almost makes me embarrassed to share mine. I've been in six foot swells off the coast of Charleston. I didn't get seasick until I went below deck. Came up to toss my lunch over the rail and almost immediately felt better. I still lost my lunch.

ben2go said:

Reading some of your stories almost makes me embarrassed to share mine. I've been in six foot swells off the coast of Charleston. I didn't get seasick until I went below deck. Came up to toss my lunch over the rail and almost immediately felt better. I still lost my lunch.

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Good lord don't feel embarrassed just because you're smart enough to avoid that stuff. I'm a bit embarrassed at hating being in city traffic and not being able to swallow asparagus (that's when I toss lunch). Don't tell anyone this but even after over fifty years I still get sick on occasion.