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| The Perils of a Mediterranean Vacation | ||||||
| (Sunday, 07 March 2010) Written by greeniac103259 | ||||||
| On Wednesday, a series of three "abnormally high" waves smashed into the cruise ship the Louis Majesty off of Spain's Mediterranean coast, taking two lives. It is disputed whether these were true rogue waves or not. A rogue wave is a wave that is more than double the average of the tallest third of waves in the area. The waves in Spain, which ravaged the cruise ship, were measured at 26 feet high. Some oceanographers are surprised that these waves did so much damage. Rogue waves often come in sets of three. Sailors know these as "the three sisters," and the fact that the Louis Majesty was hit by three successive waves strengthens the argument that they were rogue waves. Semantics aside, these were big- but by no means the biggest- waves that caused perhaps more damage than they should have. In comparison to the biggest waves ever recorded by man- over 100 feet in height- these 26 footers seem mere swells. They are a reminder for the adage, "Never turn your back on the ocean"- even if you are on a sundeck in the Mediterranean. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ij-UwlWi3__At1sQpOZ5UGRIP5tA http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/03/rogue-waves/
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