The Insane Rogue Wave that Almost Brought Down the SS Michelangelo

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Rogue waves are still a poorly understood phenomenon. While they were once thought to only occur once every 10,000 years. We now know they happen far more frequently with potentially devastating results. On April 12th, 1966, the Italian liner SS Michelangelo was hit by an unexpected rogue wave at the tail end of a massive storm. The impact did major damage to the ship and killed three. Lessons learned from the disaster led to changes in ship design to better protect against the deadly rogue wave phenomenon.
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Sources:
Masters of the Italian Line: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raffaello by Ian Sebire: amzn.to/3TE5HE3
The Wave by Susan Casey: amzn.to/3Av8OVP
www.michelangelo-raffaello.co...
Music provided by Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
Chapters:
0:00 The History of Rogue Waves
3:54 Chapter 1: SS Michelangelo
5:49 Chapter 2: The Wave
11:24 Chapter 3: The Aftermath
Disclaimer: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. Thank you for supporting my channel so I can continue providing free high-quality historical content.

[@BigOldBoats]

Thank you all for watching! If you want to help support Big Old Boats you can now join our crew over on Patreon! www.patreon.com/BigOldBoats

[@erikbongnilsson246]

far to few videos on this subject. This is the first with new information not previously told here to my knowledge. thanks!

[@lordcantiismyname]

Great work! I'm currently binge-watching your channel in tandem with Nautical Study!!

[@danieltempleton7512]

Just found your channel, wonderful work. Would love a vid on the strath sisters, I have a family connection. Looking forward to binging your vids!

[@erikbongnilsson246]

Just find the topic of freak waves so interesting as a ship nerd. I'm from Sweden so in case you would be interested in exploring the strange sinking of MS Estonia on her route from Estonia-Stockholm Sweden 1992 with loss of 852 lives, and all the fishy things surrounding it all, I'm willing to support you by being available as a subject matter source. Still 30 years later not many questions has been answered. 2020 a 5 part documentary was released "the find that changes everything". I don't think it is available internationally but I can re-watch it and brief you. Perhaps she doesn't quite fit the title of your channels since she isn't really a BIG boat (157m / 515 feet), but the loss of life was big enough.

[@BadWebDiver]

Hi! Where did you get the footage of the boys being shown around the ship?

[@stacymirba1433]

My God, if a wave did that much damage to a ship made of steel the people who sailed in wooden boats for centuries had no hope if they encountered a rogue wave.

[@haydonditchburn2194]

Smaller vessels would rise & go over the top, as scary as that may be. It's the bigger ships which don't go over the top that simply sink into the wave.

[@Flint-Dibble-the-Don]

Ship made of aluminum if I understood correctly.

[@haydonditchburn2194]

@@Flint-Dibble-the-Don hull is steel, superstructure alum... was reasonably common then.

[@Flint-Dibble-the-Don]

@@haydonditchburn2194 I thought it was the opposite. I assumed the crushed part was an aluminum exterior covering a steel frame. Learn something new everyday.

[@rebel-yell9453]

@@haydonditchburn2194 It's still common today with superyachts. Just about every superyacht made today with a steel hull has an aluminum superstructure.

[@DeereX748]

I've actually been aboard the SS Michelangelo, back in 1968. My parents had a very wealthy French friend who they played pinochle with, and she was travelling back to France aboard the Michelangelo. She invited us to New York City (from North Carolina) for a 3 day vacation at her expense, and to see her off. I had never been to anywhere like NYC, never seen a ship that big, other than the USS North Carolina battleship. I was 14 at the time, and being on board the liner, during the bon voyage party, was an experience of a lifetime. I even got to drink champagne.

[@memorialgardens1664]

🧠❤🇬🇧🙏

[@themythhunter9764]

You would be close to my mom's age! Very nice story. Thanks for sharing!

[@birdie9240]

What a cool experience! 😊🎉

[@solorclips9672]

There’s always that one guy in the comment that’s been there when it happened!

[@trevormiles5852]

I saw the DOLE container ship coming into San Diego bay. Geesh, hate to sound like a country bumpkin but how that ship did not scrape bottom only 100 yards of getty I will never know..

[@TonyT3]

The ocean is immense, in fact beyond immense. When I was in the Navy serving aboard a WW2 Sub we went on a cruise completely around South America. We were part of a task force that consisted of a DD (Destroyer escort) & a DLG ( Guided Missile Destroyer). We went through the Panama Canal & proceeded south along the west coast of South America stopping at various ports along the way. As we approached the tip of South America curising through the Straights of Magellan to Punta Arenas, this inlet water way was very calm & very narrow with snow covered mountainous islands on both sides of us. Truly a spectacular wilderness to see. As we departed Punta Arenas we were no longer in a protected inlet & in the Atlantic ocean exposed to Cape Horn. Cape Horn is considered among the most treacherous waters in the world. Our next port was 5 days away. As we headed north we encountered state 5 seas. 40', 50' & occasionally 60' waves pounded us four 3 days straight. At the time I was in the seaman gang & had to stand lookout watches on the bridge. Our bridge was exposed to the open sea. It was the most frightening experience of my life & the most exciting at the same time. I was so rough that we had to snorkel on the surface to keep our engines running. The Captain made us chain ourselfs to the bridge but ordered the Officer of the Deck below & the bridge hatch dogged shut. Our radar was useless because it was not high enough to see past the waves so we lookouts were the eyes of the ship. Sometimes we would be hit with a wave from the side & we would list 40 to 50 degrees. You could almost touch the ocean with your hand & it would take 10 to 15 minutes before the boat would right herself. At times I didn't think we were going to make it to the next port. The Guided Missile Destroyer was along side of at a distance & I remember looking at her through my binoculars & could see a wave that completely covering the middle of the ship, there was daylight under her bow & the stern was completely out of water & you could see her screws turning in air. That ship was over 400' long. One time on my watch the starboard lookout was flipping out, he refused to chain himself to the bridge & was screaming at the ocean. I radioed down to control & they took him below, but now I was on the bridge all by my self for the entire watch & they didn't replace him. When we finally spotted land of our next port I actually kissed the ground after we docked. Every time that movie the perfect storm plays I can close my eyes & I'm right back on that bridge. When I told my family & friends about this most of them did not believe me. When I see all these billionaires yachts I laugh to myself. They wouldn't stand a snowballs chance in hell againist the ocean. What fools they are.

[@mottthehoople693]

bet you dont live near the sea now

[@TheKaiTetley]

There is a company that specialises in transporting millionaire and billionaire yachts accorss the ocean. As you said, they would not survive the crossing. Edit: darn my eyes

[@TonyT3]

@@mottthehoople693 NO I live in Arizona but miss the beach terribly & have gone on about ten Cruise Ships since the Navy, only hit one hurricane.

[@kotori87gaming89]

Salute, fellow submariner!

[@TonyT3]

@@kotori87gaming89 Salute to you also. Were you on a Diesel Boat?

[@grahampalmer6256]

A freak wave hit the ship I was on as Radio Officer. It happened mid Pacific on Christmas Eve. It sent us right over and seemed to take forever to right itself. It must have been 80 foot or more. It did quite a bit of damage including a smashed lifeboat. It disappeared as quick as it came, very frightening. This happened in the late seventies.

[@Apesedits]

Mmmm really?

[@arminwilde5022]

uh huh..... yeah sure.....

[@firstlast1047]

@@Apesedits and Armin, typical nay sayers that have never been to sea where the nearest land is at least a day or more away.

[@grahampalmer6256]

@@Future-Preps35 thank you, it did happen and at that time no one believed in such a thing, but they do now. It was the scariest moment of my time at sea.

[@joemackey1950]

I was on a heavy cruiser in 1970. We were "playing Navy" off the east coast. While standing on deck looking at the ocean (which I loved) I noticed a odd looking wave coming in my direction. Suddenly it was huge and hit with such force it knocked me to the deck and against a bulkhead, about 15 yards away. I was unhurt, even after sliding across the wooden deck, but did lose a shoe that was torn off me.

[@beltdriveadventures2550]

I have experienced such a wave about 10 years ago in the Persian Gulf. I was second engineer on a crude oil tanker. The wave hit on our starboard fwd quarter. We almost capsized. Clinometer recorded 42 degrees to port at the first impact. Frightening.

[@briandoyle667]

I was a mechanic on the QE2 and hit a monster wave en route Southhampton to Newyork. It bent the bow!! Water is a mighty force to reckon with!!

[@conors4430]

My auntie‘s dad was an engineer on the QE2, an Irishman called Francis Matthews

[@briandoyle667]

@@conors4430 I dont recall the name, but that because of my age and a stroke. I dont remember anyone

[@conors4430]

@@briandoyle667 it was worth a try! Take it easy pal. Have a good one

[@thomasfinch8599]

I've always loved ocean liners. As a teen in the 1960's I used to visit the great liners on sailing days...you could do that then. I remember with great anticipation the arrival of the new Italian twins...along with the new Oceanic and Sagafjord. I visited the Michelangelo in the spring of 1965 and was later lucky enough to have a private tour of her on a non-sailing day. After her April, 1966 encounter, my indulgent Uncle drove me to Pier 90 to see the damaged liner. It was night time and the liner, in spite of her ordeal, was lit up and gleaming. The bow railings were twisted and mangled. I could see the huge tarp that covered the front of the superstructure. It was hard to reconcile how such an enormous ship could have sustained that kind of damage. The next...and last...time I saw her I was considerably older and had been backpacking through Europe. I was sitting on the beach at Cannes when the Michelangelo stealthily made her way closer to shore and then dropped anchor out in the harbor. She looked beautiful and serene out there in her element. That's the way I'll always remember her.

[@meganm9488]

Thank you so much for sharing these memories ⚓

[@thomasfinch8599]

@@meganm9488 my pleasure!

[@BLAZEU.]

What wonderful memories back when ships still had a beauty about them

[@harridan.]

well written, thank you

[@studinthemaking]

Very cool story.

[@greyhound3561]

When I watch your channel I think about my older brother, a high-functioning Autistic who loved all things about ships, he made models of famous liners and battleships and the individual portholes were painted ! He passed away in 1994 at age 38, too young, - I have some of his models in my sunroom. Watching this earned you a sub, Thank You.

[@mikekenney8362]

I’ve been sailing since 1955 and watched the notion of rogue waves move from the status of pure myth, to mathematical possibility, to scientific certainty. A retired Royal Navy officer friend of my father insisted rogue waves were real and that he had experienced one. It was sad for me as a youth to to see him derided by yacht club types. I encountered such an event off the California Channel Islands in California that had my 37 ft Hunter climbing the face of a trough that towered over us in an otherwise moderately rolling sea. I’d estimate it’s height at over 40 feet. Although we encountered a great deal of skepticism, our report coincided with news reports of windows on the bridge of the Catalina Flyer being blown out by a massive wave that same afternoon. Now they are accepted not only as a possibility, but as an inevitability of wave energy.

[@tonitemperance9960]

I was a 5 year old girl on the December 1967 journey, across the Atlantic on the Michelangelo, and I'll never forget the crossing and the hurricane we encountered 😳😥

[@ali.___..mrlegendman]

Hello

[@salcoppola8469]

I was 18 years old left Napoli Italy November 27 on the Michelangelo and arrived in new York December 5th 1967, one day late do to the hurricane it was like a miracle that we made it .

[@johnchandler1687]

During WW2 my dad was on aheavy cruiser in a squadron of many ships in the Pacific. During the worst storm they saw the whole war the waves were 50 to 100 feet high. As his ship tops one of these monsters the two destroyer escorts behind his ship were in the bottom of the trough between that wave and the next when both waves closed together into one. Those two ships were instantly deep underwater and disappeared with all hands. One of many events not reported so as to not damage wartime morale.

[@trentonarney6066]

My grandpa mentioned waves big enough to lift the ship out of the water and have the bow and screws exposed. The engineers would cut power to avoid damage to drive train and the ship would teeter before going bow down and sliding down the wave and into the water only to be lifted out again a few waves later.

[@lcarus42]

I've seen this happen with a small aluminum row boat, where two waves out of nowhere just collapesed on it at once. It never even tried to bob upwards just straight to the bottom of the lake. It was humbling, I cant imagine the affect of seeing it happen to 2 destroyers. My god.

[@simonw2631]

Any idea of the names of the ships ?

[@johnchandler1687]

@@simonw2631 No. My father's been dead 20 years now and he never said. Didn't talk much about the war at all.

[@simonw2631]

@@johnchandler1687 i bet somewhere on the internet is what happened to every ship that served, especially warships. And it may not have been documented or published back then but someone must have made a report. Do you know what ship or battle group he served on/in ?

[@jasonatkin6787]

The Italians built some incredibly beautiful ocean liners. Even with the strange funnels, the lines on that ship are just gorgeous. Just look at that sheer!

[@hannahpumpkins4359]

In 1993 I was a first mate on a fishing vessel south of the Gulf Stream heading toward Cay Sal Banks with winds from the SE around 18 Knots intermittent, and seas around 5', choppy and messy (no rollers). I saw something on the horizon that looked like a large wave, so I got out my binoculars. Sure enough, it was a 30' high wall of water that stretched from horizon to horizon, and moving quickly north toward us. At first I wondered if it could have been a wake from a fully-loaded freighter or tanker, but as it got closer it was clear this was something else entirely... We got the boat and crew ready, and when the wave hit we went completely under water - all I saw was green. It caused a lot of damage, but the bilge pumps, engine, and steering still worked, though our electronics etc were all knocked out. What still confounds me to this day is how a wave could get so large in that area - I mean, Cuba is on one side, and Marathon, FL, is on the other - a distance of around 95 nautical miles. I wouldn't think it could have the distance needed for that, and especially since that water is only around 250 fathoms deep generally at it's greatest - there's shallow reef in many areas there... Anyway, I never believed in rogue waves until that day - I thought they were just old sailor's stories (many of which I later found to be based on some level of truth)!

[@nickolaymiltenov]

So what is the difference between tsunami and rouge wave? I think you witnessed a tsunami.

[@norml.hugh-mann]

@@nickolaymiltenov a tsunami is the whole water column moving and wouldnt have much of a surface wave @ where its 250 fathoms...there really isnt much to explain this other than that your horizons not very far when a waves in the way...could be quite long...but "from horizon to hotizon " could be as little as a mile depending on height above water

[@nettwench]

Wow! That is so crazy! Anything can happen in the ocean. These stories are epic. Isn't that part of the Devils Triangle?

[@marthakrumboltz2710]

@@nickolaymiltenov the area described is known as the Florida straits. Water is funneled thru here from the Gulf Stream, clockwise in the gulf, and the other water meets this with unpredictable results in this narrow strait. Not necessarily tsunamis, but fun times for crewmen aboard any vessel.

[@nickolaymiltenov]

@@marthakrumboltz2710 Good explanation. Sounds logically. Thanks.

[@olivertoeknuckleiii2093]

While a passenger on an Alaskan cruise in 2013, we were hit in the middle of the night by a gigantic wave that rolled the ship at least 45 degrees back and forth. All of the drawers on the dressers slammed open simultaneously, and the sound of the items that were previously sitting on the dresser tops and counters hitting the floor was alarming! The violence of the event was disturbing! We never heard from the ship’s crew as to what had actually happened that night, but I’m sure we were hit by a rogue wave.

[@KB-bh9hp]

Rouge waves are hands down one of the scariest things about the ocean. A ship killing 100 ft monster that appears, hits you, and disappears is a terrifying idea.

[@martinwebb3017]

And then there are the hypothetical rogue holes, the inverse of rogue waves - they could be more than twice the significant wave height. Rogue holes have been replicated in experiments using water wave tanks, but have not been confirmed in the real world.

[@Mgl1206]

@@martinwebb3017 might be because unlike rogue waves it’s much more dangerous against ships and result in their sinking. Especially since a rogue hole, unlike it’s sisters, is impossible to detect early.

[@nettwench]

I've never heard of a rogue hole, but I follow surfing and there are waves that come out of very deep water that hit a reef or a rock slab, and they suck so much water up their face that the trough is below sea level. I imagine things like that could happen at places like the Grand Banks.

[@purplefood1]

@@nettwench it's also called a rogue trough because it's the inverse of a rogue wave, similar conditions except instead of a peak you get a trough. Even if you did detect one i'm not entirely sure what you'd do to prevent sinking

[@lonewolf4215]

@@martinwebb3017 could these rogue holes theoretically break the backs of ships?

[@richarddyasonihc]

I am now retired, however, I haven’t the damage that occurred to a container vessel which was similar in size to the vessel on which I was Mate/chief Officer,encountered something that must have been similar to that you describe. The second Office was offf watch, sleeping in his cabin when he was thrown out of his bunk, finding his cabin was in six inches of water - worse was in store, when noticing that water was entering through the horizontal ventilation slat in his cabin door. He decided to ho head for the wheelhouse two decks above and found water cascading down the companionway. It had almost stopped when he reach the bridge deck and found all the windows were smashed in, and the Officers on watch were very shaken. There was considerable damage to the superstructure - which considering that the Bridge Deck was approximately 60 feet above the waterline be, rather disconcerting!

[@Apesedits]

Itchy chin.

[@johnf8064]

Another reason to stay on land! Landlubbers!

[@machida58]

@@Apesedits ?

[@mottthehoople693]

the stuff of nightmares

[@jagaloon216]

@@machida58 he doesn't believe the story.

[@terrytucker7090]

Sailed from Naples to NYC on board Michelangelo in Spring of ‘71 with my parents. Heard about the wave but never knew it did as much damage as the video shows. Great trip, wonderful crew. Sad ending for a beautiful ship.

[@salcoppola8469]

I sailed from Napoli to NYC and I was a passenger in the hurricane of December 1967

[@barbaratheard5992]

I went with my husband from NYC to Naples in April 1971. On the Michelangelo

[@thecasualcreator9396]

I haven’t put much research into the Michelangelo, but now I think I will. Poseidon-esque rogue wave stories always interest me

[@bally1213]

Sailed on HMS Windsor Castle in the 60s, left Cape Town in a hurricane force 10 (never understood why) the force of the water tore massive winches of the forward deck like a can of beans. Never under estimate the sea. Great video 👍

[@a24-45]

Rogue waves were speculated to be responsible for ship losses even a 100 years ago. In 1909 the passenger and cargo SS Waratah, with 211 souls on board en route from Australia to the UK, disappeared completely off the African coast between Cape Town and Durban. Search efforts over several years failed to find any trace of the ship which was considered "unsinkable". Most investigators concluded that the ship had been struck by a freak wave and sunk to the bottom. This mysterious total disappearance unnerved the shipping industry and the travelling public in Australia and the UK for many years afterwards. Edit: i just saw that there is a post on this topic already on the channel. Great work Big Old Boats, I'm off to check it out.

[@alanlight7740]

The area around the southern tip of Africa is now considered to be one of the worst spots for rogue waves, so this isn't all that surprising in hindsight.

[@bazza945]

What is not commonly known is that Michaelangelo and sistership Raffaello, were originally designed to be nuclear powered.

[@chiselteeth6979]

Their other sisterships Donatello and leonardo had thick shells

[@BennyCFD]

Barry, I knew that because you told me 1.275 years ago when we were in Tel Aviv.

[@matt8863]

The SS Leonardo da Vinci was planned with provisions for conversion to run on nuclear power. Unless you can provide a link, I've never read anywhere that the "Michaelangelo and sistership Raffaello, were originally designed to be nuclear powered".

[@MisterCaprisun]

@@andredeketeleastutecomplex believe it or not, that just wouldn't happen. If an accident were to happen and something went wrong with the nuclear reactor, these were designed to allow thousands of litres of seawater to fill the reactor core, completely stopping the reaction and Shielding it completely.

[@michaelcrawford8401]

@@chiselteeth6979 I see what you did there.

[@robbicu]

This is an excerpt from a book I'm writing. I'm glad I got my facts correct! Thank you for a great video! “She’s called 'The Rolling Mary’ affectionately, and until you get used to her quirks, it can be a little unnerving. Of course, this is after all late November on the North Atlantic, so a little rolling is to be expected anyway.” Ben groaned. “This is nothing compared to what happened a few years ago. A giant rogue wave hit us with over eleven thousand GIs on board. I thought we were done for. The Mary rolled nearly 52 degrees! "

[@spiralrose]

You don’t need to use both “of course” and “after all” in the same sentence… it’s clunky. In the sentence, using just one phrase would be sufficient.

[@cozmcwillie7897]

13:21 The Queen Elizabeth (The Queen Mary's bigger sister) experienced 5 Rogue waves in her career. Luckily she was always facing the waves when they struck. It was also lucky that no passengers were outside at the time being very early in the morning on each occasion. The waves swept over the bridge then down the entire length of the vessel. The QE2 experienced 2 such waves during her life. I believe some of the passengers and crew who were aboard then are still alive. I read one steward's account on a Utube post about liners.

[@roystrickland3363]

I remember the Michelangelo's captain being interviewed on TV after the incident. "Sink a ship like this?" he said. "Impossible!" He did look nervous, though.

[@luca-pk5ff]

How old are you?

[@luca-pk5ff]

@Account NumberEight of course. Haha

[@artistmajor]

@Luca does that really matter? Even if Mr. Strickland was a late teens, he would only be in his early 80s now...a still young and healthy age. Sorry to troll you but I like reading replies and yours seems a bit moot is all...no judgement or bummer

[@dufferdude1205]

I surfed for years and have seen abrupt double sized many times and they can give you a surprising ride. They are usually formed when two opposing waves collide. They are not predicable.

[@nettwench]

Yeah, I used to surf hurricane waves off of Charleston and Cape Hatteras, it was best when the hurricane was a few hundred miles away, or after it passed by. A big set wave could come at any time. I went to the North Shore in Hawaii for the winter and my ex went to hs there and surfed. You could be out on a 5' day and a 10' wave could come from any direction. The thought of that was really scary. Of course there was no surf forecasting then, but it's still out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The power of the waves there was like being shot out of a cannon, the centrigal force whipped my arms straight out, even Hatteras was nothing like that. Gives you a lot more appreciation watching people surf Pipe or outer reefs.

[@schiz0phren1c]

That explanation of Rogue waves and Survivor Bias was extraordinary and shocking, Having been aboard a Dive Boat that got flipped by a storm that we could all *SEE* but not get away from in time I can only imagine the pandemonium onboard a Ship full of passengers with no Diving equipment(we were top heavy and decided to get everyone geared up(except for tanks, which we put on lines) and although we were only 20 people and an unusually well qualified group with many people on their Dive Master or Master Scuba Diver course and some highly specialised Rescue Divers(talking about lads who went on to be Heli Crew etc), so we had no panic, but it was still an awesome and terrifying event as we were right and the Boat immediately flipped on it's meeting the hurricane speed winds, we all got through, but it was a long few hours of absolute sensory wipeout, I can only imagine(as I said above) what that would be like with *HUNDREDS* of Men, Women and Children in a situation like many have encountered when being struck by a rogue wave, it is chilling to note that for many of them., who had been told Rogues were thousand year events, discovered to their fatal loss, that it was not so, The Passengers and Crew of the Michelangelo were very lucky in their Captain being a canny Sailor and deeply concerned with their safety, it is a tragedy that Three lives were lost, but it could have been so much worse!, Excellent video and channel by the way(ves) :P you;ve got yourself a new Sub(Marine)Scriber!

[@nickgeraci9846]

rogue waves absolutely fascinate me, the harsh reality of them being they are probably more common than we think, but they are so devastating not many live to talk about it. Any other rogue wave stories would be so interesting to learn about!

[@nickgeraci9846]

lol I need to finish watching the vids before commenting bc the WWII plane is exactly what im talking ab haha

[@harridan.]

here's one. a few years ago a friend of mine, Sam, was sailing in the Atlantic with some friends on a 40 foot sailboat when in the middle of the night they were hit by a rogue wave head on, they never saw it coming in the dark. the boat pitchpoled, meaning she made a complete summersault from end to end and when the wave had passed she was battered but upright. everything in the cabins got wet and it was a cold night. Sam said they had some excellent down substitute sleeping bags which, though wet, kept them from being as cold as they might have been. all the rest of the night they just huddled in their sleeping bags, listening to the boat settle lower into the water because the hull had taken some damage. Sam said they managed to limp home, fortunately they weren't too many miles off of the eastern seaboard. you dont hear too many stories about boats pitchpoling because they usually don't survive the event. i remember he said the masts were broken but they were able to rig up something. i also remember that we argued for years over the merits of goosedown over quallofill. there was another story i read about, a Nantucket whaling ship that was the inspiration for Moby Dick, i think it was the Essex. a whale really did fight back and rammed the ship until it was destroyed and sank. a few men survived, though i think cannibalism was involved.

[@davymckeown4577]

The BBC made a documentary on rogue waves years ago, I think it was simply called that. It centres on the story of the Munchen a modern German freighter lost with all hands in the Atlantic in the 70s and the search for answers. Delves into the quantum wave theory along with a few narrow escapes by Antarctic cruise ships. It was available on KZbin a few years ago, if you want to check it out. Any problems finding it, give me a shout back and I will see if I can find it and send you the link.

[@steventoby3768]

In engineering school I was taught that rogue waves were a myth. Having graduated with a degree in naval architecture, I attended a meeting of the Society of Naval Architects in New York City. It was the SNAME Annual Meeting, 1980. I won't forget it because one of the papers was all about rogue waves, showing pictures taken by bridge officers of waves whose enormous height could be gauged by comparing them with the deck equipment. This presentation showed that rogue waves were no myth, but a real danger! Much later in my life, I read the account of Sir Earnest Shackleton's lifeboat voyage after his ship was sunk in the pack ice off Antarctica. The contemporary account (1915?) describes graphically the terror of the shipwrecked sailors seeing what they thought was blue sky, only to discover it was the face of a wave that filled the whole sky and seemed certain to sink the lifeboat they were in. They lived. So, rogue waves have been known for a very long time and those who thought they were folklore were simply guilty of the kind of hubris that is all too common among scientists. They thought they had ocean waves reduced to mathematics and believed their formula, which turned out to be merely their own propaganda. They didn't bother to check the historical record, believing that sailors liked to tell tall tales. The Michelangelo was my favorite ship. I cruised to the Caribbean on her in 1970, but didn't realize she'd survived a rogue wave encounter until years later. Great photos of the damage, I knew there had been fatalities but seeing the photos gives a better idea of what happened.

[@firstlast1047]

@@steventoby3768 Ohh, the mathematical equations were correct for wave height. But the formulas did not account for a "wave train"... two waves combining. The prudent mariner, when presented with a forecast designating a predicted wave height should always prepare for the occasional wave minimally 2x the predicted height.

[@maryloulong6789]

My grandparents sailed on her in the 60s. Her funnels did look funky. It was the last ocean liner they took to Europe. The next trip was on Alitalia Airlines.

[@NonsensicalNauticalRambings]

Amazing video! Nice to see someone cover the Italian liners of the 60s.

[@bartmuller9797]

One of my ancestors was chief engineer of the Bremen, she was hit by a seventy foot wave in the Bay of Biscay, it knocked the engines off there beds, l have some pictures of 5he Bremen being hit by a massive wave...once again great presentation thanks

[@marchellochiovelli7259]

Jeez, now that is something. Sailing diesel and steam ships, that is quite an event.

[@lizlovsdagmara5525]

There were several ships named "Bremen". Was ths Bremen christened in 1929 and burned in 1940 or 1941?

[@markstott6689]

Rogue waves aren't as rare as people think. Personally I wouldn't want to face the the North (or South) Atlantic in anything smaller than a Nimitz Class. Purely on the basis if that one of those is in trouble then the rest of the US Navy is coming to the rescue.

[@d.e.b.b5788]

My dad was in the navy back in WW2 when the fleet was caught in a typhoon. he said that after that, he felt that they still hadn't made ships big enough to go out into the middle of the ocean. After the war, he never went out to sea again.

[@johnkingsley9525]

Years ago left Cabo San Lucas at night headed for Puetro Vallarta under power in a 50 foot sailboat with a following sea. I was below asleep when I awoke to a extremely loud noise and I thought we had hit a rock or gone ashore. I went on deck and found the skipper and deck hand both had been washed by a “small” rogue wave into the lee rail as we always traveled at night with life jackets and secure life lines or they would have swept overboard. Morale of the story - never under estimate the power of the sea!!

[@shuttlemanjack]

Big ships "diving deep" is truly frightening.... As is spanning waves and having their backs broken.

[@johnellis2347]

Had I known about rogue waves I doubt I would have rode the bow and Stern during a big storm as an 18 yr old on the old Dutch 30's built 8k ton Waterman. The ship headed to South Hampton from NY was a student ship all 800 of us college and captain moved all of us from bow and Stern cabins to center. It had no stabilizers so it was crazy for 9 days. Coming back on sister ship Groote Beer in another storm was same. Good news was a Henekin was a dime and a cocktail a quarter and all those college girls.

[@haydonditchburn2194]

So how much for a College Girl..? 🤪

[@Malakie]

I served US Navy, the first half of my career on DD and DDG's. On one of those ships, we hit weather the likes most people will never experience. Enough to roll a DDG to 65 degrees and if not for the immediate actions of the Captain, would have capsized us. As it was, it ripped off top side gear and tore the sonar dome array apart like paper. I happened to be on the bridge when it happened, doing what is called a BT drop, or bathermograph, which is used to not just get the depth of the water but find what we call the 'layer'. I was an STG at that time. I remember setting things up to drop the unit when a yell rang out to hang on... I grabbed one of the overhead steel cables that ran around the bridge for this very purpose and experienced the ship getting smashed by a huge wave and rolling to the port to the point my feet were hanging toward the port hatch and I was looking down into water. Talk about a weird experience. I had no fear, just a thrill and that feeling of wow or wonder as the ship made noises I had never heard before.. The Captain suddenly flying through the main hatchway shouting orders that slowly brought us into the roll and righted us with a wild swing to starboard and back again. It was one ride I have never forgotten to this day. It occurred early in my career in the mid 1980's. I was medically retired in 2014 due to multiple major service connected injuries but that one moment is the one that sticks with me to this day. I learned later that that class ship, the Spruance class, were supposed to not be able to roll that far. The inclinometer, said 63 degrees was the max roll. We lost the breakaway items, one of the masts, and one of the gun mounts was also damaged, also with numerous other things, including the aforementioned sonar dome (which is literally underwater at the bow of the ship). It was a shock to find out that had we gone even a few more degrees, we probably would have capsized although the design, is supposed to break away heavy deck items and bring itself back upright in that case. Thankfully I never had to find out. We always used to think the ship and the way it looked, was top heavy with those big boxy superstructures. That was a myth which is why many Tico's still operate today in fact and many more were built over the years.

[@judd0112]

There’s counter measures for the roll. The capt might not have thought it would be that bad and didn’t implement the em. Moving fuel around to diff fuel tanks to your now heavier on 1side. Keep it in forward and constantly correct to make sure your taking the waves head on. You shouldn’t have rolled that much unless you were taking them on the beam. That’s a death sentence. I’ve seen my captain stand at the wheel for literally hours during heavy seas and every single wave had to be taken with the bow straight on. Every 4-5 seconds for hours. The wheel was the 4 feel off the ground and he couldn’t even turn to look at what i was doing, anyway. Couple times we had to go a few hours out of our way because we couldn’t turn the boat. If we did we would have taken the full brunt of the waves broadside and capsized us So kept the bow into the waves and when close enough to shore finally made the turn to head back to out bay. But. 3 hours ride home (usually) takes 7 hours. I complained that it wasn’t worth it goin out today. I said I gotta be back here in 4 hours to do it again and I live a hour away u live down the st. Anyway. Sorry got carried away talking about waves.

[@Malakie]

@@judd0112 There were mitigating circumstances, namely the weather turned unexpectedly and fast. We were also part of a task force and had to alter formation suddenly for reasons I can't talk about. It was during a 180 turn that we got hit hard.. and in this case, transferring fuel was not feasible being you can't move fuel that fast and the only option was to bring the head around before another big one hit us. What actually saved us was the gas turbines and variable pitch props warships utilize.. They were instantly able to shift power without any delay by 100 percent pitch on one prop at full turbine thrust (LM 2500 were the jet engine turbines we had, four of them) and negative 100 percent pitch on the other shaft at max thrust. Between that and timing, they got us back up and around just as the next huge wave hit us. Estimates were waves crested 70' to 75' feet in that storm during that time. Multiple ships were damaged in that storm but luckily no deaths or ship losses. The North Atlantic is unlike any other location on the planet and unless you have literally sailed it multiple times as I have in the Navy, there is no way to describe how quickly things change there.

[@alexsetterington3142]

Reasons you can't talk about something from 40 years ago? I'd love to hear more about that.

[@Malakie]

@@alexsetterington3142 Who said it was 40 years ago? I said I went active originally in 1980. I was medically retired 2014 due to service connected injuries from serving. I served more than one period. Regardless, a lot of that tech is STILL classified and I am still bound by oath and security classification requirements against talking about or disclosing any of that information even now. There is more too it but nothing I can disclose publicly. I will say a whole lot of tech and how we use it from the 80's, is still very much in use today. Modernized sure but the underlying capabilities and technologies remain in use, including Sonar systems, our dedicated anti Submarine warfare weapon systems AND the numerous weapons and other capabilities we have (i.e. we literally are hands on for all of it), which in the US Navy STG's are responsible for not just operating but maintaining, upgrading and more.

[@frankz5864]

These videos are getting greater and greater. The amount of detail of research and production put into them should truely be commended. Well done!

[@NotChefCook]

My Mother , my sister and I sailed to Naples on the Michelangelo from NYC in the late summer of 1967 . We took the Raffaello back a year later .... gorgeous ships , amazing food but - thank goodness - no rogue waves !

[@coloradostrong]

No you didn't. Stop already.

[@user-hm5rw9wh4l]

I have heard of but I did not know that a large ocean liner had ever faced one. This was an amazing story

[@puppywing8693]

This looks exciting, and I never realised how bad she took the wave, with such bad damage

[@jnstonbely5215]

Puppy Wing . I can’t believe the authorizing nautical body allowed the use of Aluminum on this and other liners. Well I suppose it did it’s job that day, but welded reinforced steel is the way to do it .

[@ryanfreebody6881]

@@jnstonbely5215 light weight metal, helps with overall tonnage fuel efficiency and speed. No surprise they thought it was a good idea, it is rare to see a wave that big. Then again that's what you get going during storm season... something that is well noted for 100s of years.

[@olegkosygin2993]

@@jnstonbely5215 bro, it's *just water*, surely metal is stronger than water, right?

[@BLAZEU.]

@@olegkosygin2993 thousands or millions of tons of water moving at speed.Its going to have some force behind it

[@BLAZEU.]

@@olegkosygin2993 I mean something has to give.

[@ayindestevens6152]

Wow this story was insane. RIP to the victims and it’s a miracle the ship survived and FOR ONCE the crew did a good job under the circumstances.

[@chendaforest]

Once?

[@afoxwithahat7846]

@@chendaforest I mean, most disasters happen because the crew was incompetent.

[@HippoTheBaws]

@@afoxwithahat7846 There's probably thousands of close calls that we never hear about so once is not really the word to use when there's been plenty of crew members doing what they were supposed to and mother nature doing what she does best. Rip to anyone who knows someone lost at sea. To say all are incompetent is pretty stupid too sometimes situations are out of your hands.

[@goodgame3374]

The officers & crew sound extremely professional & proactive.

[@gregw6748]

@@chendaforest my thoughts exactly

[@davetraenkner5163]

My wife and I sailed on that ship in April of 1975. I remember them showing us where the bridge was repaired. Never realized until now how much damage was sustained by that wave.

[@yuniyonson]

I really liked your channel....You told the real stories without stupid modern comments...also with a very good understanding of what you were talking about...unlike so many Americans....Well Done!!

[@tonyperez4791]

Great video, Thank you for sharing. I was able to get aboard her and The Raffaello in the early 70's in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. It was a school trip. Hope you and your loved ones have a great/safe week.

[@vaakdemandante8772]

Rogue wave is a stochastic phenomenon rooted in quantum mechanics. The waves come into being when various low-height waves interfere with one another in a constructive way, so that in a particular place for a brief period of time a huge wave forms, just to disperse without a trace a moment later. In some fundamental way those waves are just unpredictable.

[@seanogallchoir3237]

Could they be as a result of the Earth being compressed by energy fields in space?.

[@raymondmassie4898]

I was offshore on the Thistle Alpha platform at the time of the rogue wave in Jan 1995. It was during what was called ‘the 100 year storm’. We had wind speeds of 120mph across the main deck and a nearby semi-submersible measured a gust of 212mph. The seas were pretty nasty and we took a few waves in the wellhead deck.

[@Johnny2Bags47]

That's crazy. Screw that

[@nettwench]

You can't even stand up in winds like that. Hurricane Hugo was a Cat 4, I never want to see a Cat 5.

[@brick6347]

Those old liners were built tough. I'm not sure I'd want to be on a modern cruise ship if a rogue wave struck.

[@iplayheavybecauseheiscool]

Poseidon adventure 2.0

[@afoxwithahat7846]

Cruise ships don't even sail in rough weather

[@brick6347]

@@afoxwithahat7846 as a rule, but some do repositioning cruises between seasons

[@okankyoto]

@@brick6347 Well thats just a movie setting waiting to happen!

[@lyingcorrectly]

@@afoxwithahat7846 ​ They try not to but it does happen. I have been in a bad North Sea storm on a modern cruise ship. Anything that wasn't nailed down was tied down beforehand (furniture, etc.), nobody was allowed on deck for any reason without permission from the bridge, and there was *a lot* of water coming over the bow. Unsurprisingly, almost all passengers were seasick in their cabins. But even that storm was still well within the permissible limits of the ship, it was completely safe and there was no damage. Having said that, ocean liners were of course more strongly built, but cruise ships can still take a lot. But they want the passengers to have fun, and being seasick in your cabin is not what most people think of as "fun", so whenever possible they stay out of bad weather.

[@donmartin986]

Thanks for this well put together presentation! I had only seen still photos of the ship upon arrival in NY, so the footage was great to see. In 1997, we embarked on the 1957 S.S. Rotterdam on it's last leg of it's last Around the World voyage from Rome to NY. The segment was available because some passengers wanted to fly home instead of enduring an April crossing on the Atlantic. Captain prepared us for 3 storms each one to grow in intensity. He was dead on right. That 3rd storm was a force 10 with waves up to ( only ) 40 feet from stem to stern. Strangely there were several rogue waves that hit us broadside which I still can't figure out. Lasted almost 24 hours. Passengers disappeared, several partition half walls in Lido dislodged crashing to floor, unfortunately folks suffered broken arms and legs, plumbing dislodged and created leaks, luckily the forward bulkhead only suffered cracked thick glass. I remember grabbing a rail to hold onto in a passageway and when the ship jerked back the rail came out of the wall! When we arrived in NY, we could look back and see the ship completely streaked in rust from top to bottom. Eerie.

[@unclejeezy674]

The waves we thought were uncommon are actually pretty common. The scary part is that means that the large waves which are rare must be beyond imagination.

[@wormworm580]

Your editing is good, but your writing is great! This is the first video of yours I’ve seen, but I think your content is really high quality with a unique kind of storytelling that rivals much bigger channels, ala Bright Sun Films or Austin McConnell. Great work!

[@raybame5816]

Very well done. I've always thought these Italian ships had the most beautiful lines (Rex, Andrea Doria, these two sisters). I did not no the QM was hit and listed so far without going over. Nice job on rouge waves. Like your diction and pace.

[@timothymcclaire3276]

I've read that marine engineers estimated that if Queen Mary had heeled over on her side another 5 inches she would've hit the point of no return and capsized.

[@davidyoung8521]

You no when you know. You know.

[@raybame5816]

@@davidyoung8521 I no now. tanks

[@PAK1958]

I loved seeing your posts about probably the worst time on that ship. It's amazing how people can endure the brutality of the sea. Thank you for your hard work. Keep it up there are plenty of us who want to know what happened.

[@serenityflies1462]

God bless the souls of those who died. The crew did really well, terrifying experience, we are reminded, yet again, how powerful mother nature is......

[@geodot595]

great job. finally science recognized the rogue wave after "tall tales" of seamen through the century. qe2 90 ft encounter led the design team of qm2 to revive the whaleback as in normandies design in 1934.

[@CJODell12]

QE2’s rogue wave happened in September 1995, during Hurricane Luis.

[@lawrencedewan9838]

Wow! Great Captain! Took every precaution, followed all safety protocols and used all his 'know-how' when most needed. It's not the size of the wave...it's the motion of the ocean...!

[@Sailor_alan]

Honestly I find your channel so addictive, but as I'm a 2nd officer and as I'm at sea, really always choose the worst possible time to watch these videos.

[@cleanair1183]

My father who was on two heavy cruisers 1940-1946 during WWII did numerous North Atlantic convoy crossings. He did not talk about the war much but I did get him to share some of his experiences. I'll share two of them here: Dad what is the largest fish you ever saw? Answer: "On bridge watch at dawn in the North Atlantic I was saw a shadow 1/2 the length of the ship between us and a destroyer that was running in formation next to us." " We went to full general quarters anticipating it to be a German U-boat." "As the sun rose and the visibility increased it turned out to be a Stingray 1/2 the length of our Cruiser (USS CINCINNATI, Omaha Class, 1921-1945. My father never allowed us to swim in the open ocean. Two: North Atlantic convoys ran into Nort Atlantic Storms. Dad told me on more than one occasion he saw a battleship go over a superwave,, go under the next two and emerge form being completely submerged. Never got used to seeing that!

[@07Hawkeye]

im not saying i dont believe the first story but it mustve been something other than a ray. even the largest ray in the world, the oceanic manta ray aka the giant manta ray, largest ever on record was only 30 feet, with most being spotted at around 15 feet in length. the USS Cincinnati was a 550 foot long ship. a ray even a third of that size would have to be 180 feet long which would be over 6 times the length of the largest ray on record and would likely be centuries old and most likely still alive today if that were the case. the ocean is a massive sprawling thing, it's not impossible for a creature to be that big in the ocean seeing as we have barely scratched the surface of figuring out every creature in the ocean.. however, the largest creature to ever exist (extinct or extant) and that roams our oceans today is the antarctic blue whale, of which the largest ever recorded was 98 feet long, still only one sixth of the length of the USS Cincinnati. i have no idea what he could have seen, if it was a creature then we still have absolutely no clue about it.. being that large and coming to the surface or at least near it, it would be incredibly hard to miss. let alone a ray, which manta's are generally as wide as they are long because they have long triangular shaped fins off to both sides of the ray. seeing one 180 feet long means it would have had to be nearly 180 feet wide as well.. it wouldve looked more like an underwater island following them than something u-boat shaped. that story has genuinely peaked my curiosity though, i have heard stories of massive creatures before that dont exist on record so as i said, im not putting it out of the realm of possibility but it would be a very hard creature to miss especially if it comes to the surface. the fact that it comes to the surface at all would mean it had to be either a whale or dolphin... being that dolphins of all kinds are no where near as large, it wouldve had to have been some sort of whale. if not then the only creature i have heard of that could even resemble a ray would be a giant squid, who have arrow shaped heads that look similar to the fins of a ray. it that were the case its plausible. there are stories that date back to ancient times of massive squid that would attack ships, so maybe it wasnt up there to breathe air from the surface but to potentially attack a ship. even the vikings/norse cultures had/have many mannnny stories of the "kraken" dating back to well over 1000 years ago. in biblical ancient times, the Phoenicians (culture of people who lived on the seas/oceans said to have travelled and traded with the whole world long before recorded history talks of worldwide travel on the sea) have stories of the "leviathan". even prophets in the bible speak of God saying he 'played with the leviathans'. so genuinely i dont doubt your dads story, im just amazed that nobody has recorded a creature of that magnitude yet anywhere in the world. genuinely i wouldve loved to share a beer with your dad and hear the story myself. especially the specific grid/location this creature was spotted. if it still exists, ill look for the bastard.

[@hood7028]

Rogue waves are terrifying fr

[@andrewfowens]

I'm glad the algorithm allows smaller channels like yours to reach wider audiences.

[@gregorm9183]

The Michelangelo was a beautiful Ocean Liner , a classic.

[@richarda996]

In 1986 during hurricane Wand I witnessed a rogue wave go 20’ over a large supply vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. Old oil field hand here.

[@aesearby]

Very helpful background re rogue waves: check. Intricate description of the ship: check. Suspenseful storytelling of the subject incident: check. Respectful covering of the casualties of the incident: check. Weird Ass Funnel mention: bonus!!

[@rickymherbert2899]

I have been on two supplyships in the North Sea that have had their wheelhouse windows punched in by a wave(s). Luckily we had no deaths nor, any serious injuries and managed to limp back to Aberdeen. Very scary experiences.

[@agni2003]

Those funnels really show the modern Italian design of the 60s. Gorgeous and futuristic.

[@thejerseyj5479]

While touring the Queen Mary in Long Beach California, I saw a picture taken from a bomber flying to Europe during World War 2. The photo depicted the Queen Mary plowing through heavy seas. Her three funnels were about all you could see as the waves crashed over the length of her. As a troop ship she had the incredible job of carrying up to 15,000 troops and supplies. The incident that inspired the book and movie "The Poseiden Adventure" was something that I had heard of. What I was not aware of is the fact that she listed an amazing 54° and was able to right herself. An incredible story and one of the reasons she, and the SS United States are my two favorite ships. PS, thankfully they are both still afloat.

[@stevie-ray2020]

Rogue-waves occur when the waves from a heavy-swell intersect each other culminating in even lower troughs and higher peaks, which have even taken down solidly built lighthouses! However, the same interplay of forces can cancel out the oscillation of the waves causing brief patches of calmness within a turbulent sea! (This principle is used by noise-cancelling headphone-technology to eliminate external sounds!)

[@Kaidhicksii]

_(you got the numbers flipped up when you were talking about her length; it was 906' 2", not 609' 2" XD)_ It's almost like this video was made for me, because I saw that image of the plane with the survivable hit points and the blank area representing the non-survivable hit points just last week _(school started back up for me)._ This one was a banger -(no pun intended).- The story of the Michelangelo and the rogue wave was one of the very first stories that properly introduced me both to the ship and to the wave, in the National Geographic documentary about rogue waves. It used to be up here before YT took it down... Rogue waves (or freak waves as I prefer to call them, bc it sounds scarier) are just as real as anything else in this world and by no means uncommon. They are one of the biggest demonstrations of Mother Nature's power. Besides being at least twice the significant wave height (which is the highest of every third wave in a given sea state) per the scientific definition, other characteristics of these waves include coming from different directions as opposed to other waves, and most critically, they are substantially steeper than the surrounding waves too. They aren't called walls of water for nothing. It is this combination of height, behavior and shape which make them so dangerous. Lord only knows how many ships over the years have been sunk by these waves. While they are very unpredictable, we do have a pretty solid understanding of some of the factors that cause them. These include the following: - two waves coming from opposite directions and meeting head-to-head - one wave which runs down another wave traveling in the same direction - wind and waves traveling one way meeting a current traveling another way - waves which suddenly encounter shallow water and/or natural geographical formations - waves which, in a given sea state, suddenly become nonlinear _(this we don't have a full understanding of yet, namely how a sea state can become unstable like that; quantum physics is involved)_ I recommend you and anyone else to watch the Horizon documentary 'Freak Wave.' Excellent presentation and I learned a substantial amount from it. Other facts about these waves include that they can travel for extremely long distances, and thus sometimes surprise you even when you're in flat calm conditions, far away from any weather. So, the wave in the 2006 'Poseidon' remake wasn't unrealistic in that sense. This is why you never turn your back on the ocean. It may well be the last thing you ever do. Additionally, scientific tests were done to determine what the highest conceivable wave could be, based on the vastness of the ocean, its depth, saltwater, how strong and long the wind blows, etc. The answer came to about 198-feet. The Michelangelo was both a fine ship and a standout testament to the design, engineering and strength of the great liners. It's a shame QM2 is the only one left. Nevertheless, she was also a sharp reminder that we are but the grains of the sand in this giant, active world, and that no matter what, we are all subject to God's power. To quote our good friend Mike Brady, "Ships are big, very big. But the ocean will always be mightier." Congratulations on the Patreon: I'll consider joining when I'm able to pay the bills. If this video was anything to go by, the ones to follow are going to be AWESOME. Keep up the great work with Big Old Boats. At this point, you're perhaps the best in the business. :D

[@lewis7315]

Coast Guard Cutter Evergreen, last week January 1967... We experienced several sets of waves at least 80 feet high... During A SouthEaster lasting a week, Gulf of Maine area

[@joemcdonald7798]

You are an amazing storyteller. So much effort put into this one. Looking forward to many more. Thankyou for your great post

[@harlanjennings7974]

The alloys used with aluminum have made it much stronger. I did not know aluminum was ever used for ocean going vessels. Fantastic episode, thank you

[@anthonyxuereb792]

That was one horrendous whack to the ship. I like the look of the funnels and they would have reduced drag.

[@KartrProject]

I always love your vids and the way you narrate the vids. Ever thought about narrating fictional ships as well like the Antonia Graza

[@medea27]

I've always found the science of rogue waves fascinating & I knew about the Michelangelo, but not the details of her encounter. How incredibly tragic that the captain & crew were so careful and did things right, only to be blindsided by Mother Nature... incredible that the helmsman managed to keep control. RIP to the three men 🤍

[@denisiwaszczuk1176]

Wow. Ive seen some big seas in Southern Ocean . But 80ft. The power of the sea.

[@marvinstorm9153]

Beautiful Italian liners. Just stunning engineering and design. Stunning drawings. Thank you!

[@joanbutterworth8893]

Hi.. anything from the "Queen Frederica" Chandris Line would be great ... I was able to sail in its last voyage from Auckland to Gibraltar In January 1971 I had my 15th Birthday onboard and remember passing through Sydney Melbourne Durban Dakar ..Gibraltar then Comet to Heathrow London...1st experience onboard a beautiful {now sadly long gone} lady of the sea's I can see a lot of info about her sister ships Britanis Ellenis Australis etc as I think they were more renown for the South Pacific route..The Queen was some thing special though!! she will always have a place in my heart.. Thank you so much for your time. My Name is Joan Butterworth and a quick "hello" on one of your vids would be so awesome xx

[@markrowland1366]

7, February 1933 the USN oiler and survey ship Ramapo, 670 feet, was struck by a wave 112 feet high. It's. Crew included navigation trainees, capable of measuring such waves.

[@somethinglikethat2176]

I can not imagine the horror of see one of those things in a age of sail ship. Would be bad enough in the modern era.

[@marhawkman303]

IF you saw it. You might just wake up at the Pearly Gates... or the other place, and have to ask how you got there.

[@somethinglikethat2176]

@@marhawkman303 honestly that might be better.

[@enzoconcina7306]

In August 1966 i (born June 1962) boarded the Michelangelo in Genova along with my mother and five month old brother headed to New York. My father was waiting for us in Toronto where we were to settle as Italian immigrants. He had gone there beforehand to organize housing. I have three distinct memories of this eight day journey on this fabulous ship. I must specify that my mother had to cater to my five month old brother so that left me much time to explore what the ship offered. The first memory is when i found myself at the stern looking over the railing - after pulling myself up - and seeing the massive and long white water trail the propellers created. I dont recall if it was the same day that i saw a few relatively small green/grey military planes flying overhead. Lastly i have a vivid memory of the beauty of the lunch & dinner quarters with the bright long white table cloth's covering practically every table-top surface in the room. The food & colors on top of the buffet area table was spectacular. I"de never seen so much prosciutto and cold cuts before. Being in that room made me feel less poor then i actually was. I still have a newspaper clipping and foto of the Captain shaking my hand while sitting in the lobby with my mother and brother. This "event" made it on the Ships newspaper. Too find out just a few years ago that this same ship we were on was heavily damaged by amassive rouge wave just a few months before (April) our journey leaves an eerie feeling. Enzo

[@marvwatkins7029]

Well done. John Maxtone-Graham would be proud.

[@Apesedits]

Imagine sailors on wooden boats from the 1800's & earlier. No wonder there are so many wrecks still being discovered beneath the sea across the world.

[@haydonditchburn2194]

Two years on a tanker servicing Antarctica (from New Zealand) saw us meeting some massive waves once we moved south from any landfall. We never experienced direct hits like on this film, but we certainly experienced some butt clenching moments, especially when Ice Bergs washed up on the Tank decks & slid their way aft smashing everything in sight & colliding with the protective coffer dam at the end (which protected the crew quarters down aft). Almighty explosions 24 hours a day. Scary at first, but you do get used to them. Repair guardrails, piping & coffer dam, then load up for the next trip south..

[@talesfromanoldmanpatoneal6372]

Fantastic informative video. It's amazing how much more research has been done on rogue waves since the 90's. Thanks for sharing and taking us on the adventure.

[@changeshifter4852]

Hearing a slide carousel again warmed my heart. Nice job using it here 👏

[@charles1964]

Unconvinced?...Being caught in a sudden squall fishing off Georges Bank while the waves stack up 40 feet over your gunnels will make a believer out you real quick.

[@cecilwilson5442]

We had a ship in last year with the front loading door bent with a freak wave being reinforced it was surprising to see,,being 1ltr, equal to 1kg salt water maybe different,,but massive tonnage is feasible,,, from a big wave,, great video ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️

[@jcip1]

Great Info and video. We travelled on her sister ship the Raffello in 1969 returning from a trip to Italy. It was a magnificent ship!

[@robertbowen6610]

I love your voice it puts me to sleep and I know to most this would sound like an insult but I have ptsd and it really does help me sleep I don’t get much of that so with nothing but respect and gratitude thank you

[@ST21phil07]

Really love your content. I wish you all the success you deserve.

[@jeffries1232]

Fantastic effort put into your video ,I really enjoyed what you did here .Thanks so much for your devotion.I love ships and especially the old battleships and their stories ,And also seas stories like Rogue waves which are so tremendously powerful like a large explosive device always amaze people with what they can actually do to a steel ship

[@speakupriseup4549]

Nothing on earth is more awe inspiring than the fury of the sea, it makes everything else pale into insignificance.

[@kevincarlson668]

As a kid I read that the Queen Mary(1) was heavy roller before improvements.Someone was quoted as saying "she could roll the milk out of a cup of tea." So were the Andrea Doria and Leonardo Da Vinci.They had to add concrete below the Leonardo's waterline,making her "thirsty" and expensive to operate.

[@jacktoddy9783]

A subject worth considering is the well told story of the Townsend Thoresen Ferry capsize disaster. The vessel was The Herald of Free Enterprise sailing the route from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge to Felixstowe UK. I would like to learn of your research on what happened.

[@donaldrobertson5779]

It was not much of a wave, the bow doors were still open as she rounded the mole

[@oldmandoinghighkicksonlyin1368]

I have an intense fear of deep water, so maritime disasters both fascinate and terrify me. I really enjoy this type of content and hope you can continue.

[@ReyOfLight]

Same here, I’m terrified of deep water and open sea (yet I still want to go on a cruise) Pretty sure I got traumatized by seeing the news reports from the MS Estonia sinking when I was just 9 years old as that disaster was both big and hit close to home for me (I’m Swedish, did however not know anyone on the ship that day) But yeah, seeing the reports and seeing the rough sea on the news at just 9 years old, probably marked me for life. The only thing more scary than deep water and open sea, is deep water and open sea and bad weather

[@oldmandoinghighkicksonlyin1368]

@@ReyOfLight I was traumatized by my mom taking me to an Olympic sized swimming pool as an infant and when I looked under water I saw those thick black lines used as lane markers painted on the bottom of the pool. Scared the bejesus out of me.

[@jamesobrien8529]

I'm the same way. This video is freaking me out. But I cant stop watching it.

[@boowiebear]

Very key important about survivorship bias regarding the rogue waves. Crazy to think it had been taking so many boats for so long and it was never confirmed.

[@seanogallchoir3237]

It was similar with scurvy, it was known about for many years, also the solution. The lemon worked, the lime did not. # HeroesAtSea.

[@regrettablestitches]

This video was a treat -- great content and very well produced. The bonus treat was scrolling down and reading the incredible experiences in the comments! I ended up on this video by accident, and I am so genuinely glad I did.

[@marcot3013]

Highest wave ever recorded on our offshore platform in the Canadian North Atlantic was 31.5m in 2018. Yes meters not feet. It was a storm resulting from an intense low pressure, not a hurricane. We had multiple hours of waves over 20m high…… so not really a rouge wave I guess.

[@jimgraham6722]

There is a wave measuring instrument permanently located in the ocean 20 km west of Tasmania. Periodically it measures waves up to about 20 metres.

[@rebel-yell9453]

There is a beach in Portugal, Nazare' people surf waves there that sometimes exceed 30 meters. There is a television series called The 100 Foot Wave that shows big wave riders riding these waves. When I was a younger man I rode waves to 11 meters in height at a few beaches in California after major storms. I was very much drawn to the biggest waves I could find. I don't think I would have survived the places guys surf nowadays, places like Nazare", Jaws, Teahupoo, Maverick's, Cortes Bank etc. Of course today, most times there are people on jet skis out there making sure surfers don't drown and also towing them into huge waves. I always had to paddle into the waves I rode, we didn't have jet skis to help us catch waves.

[@nettwench]

Rebel-yell, former east coast surfer here, I follow all the big wave riders, it's the most exciting sport on earth. Nazare is insane! The bathymetry of the place makes it so huge. There's a deep canyon there that funnels a huge amount of water into the wave. Mavericks and Teahupoo are just fascinating to watch. They now have more technical advantages to survive them, like suits that have emergency oxygen or that inflate and take them to the surface. But it's still really dangerous. Most of those surfers can hold their breath a long time.

[@bobbys4327]

@@nettwench right before I saw this channel I saw one where an older surfer got his shoulder dislocated and broken by the water. He said he had an inflatable suit and it kept him from being able to dive down to try and go under the wave.

[@dwaveryn]

Thank you for another awesome video, Bradley. Just got my Big Old Boats tee shirt in the mail this morning. It's great! Love it!