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Australia Records Its Biggest Ever Wave – Blog

A weather bureau waverider buoy yesterday measured a wave 10 kilometers off Cape Sorrell, near Strahan, Tasmania at 18.
A weather bureau waverider buoy yesterday measured a wave 10 kilometers off Cape Sorrell, near Strahan, Tasmania at 18.4m…


Map of Tasmania’s hot spot, plus the most likely humans to face an ocean monster, tanker crew. Photo taken by seaman Philippe Lijour
off the coast of South Africa in 1980.

A weather bureau waverider buoy yesterday measured a wave 10 kilometers off Cape Sorrell, near Strahan, Tasmania at 18.4m. That’s 60.37 feet in the old money – the highest single wave height ever recorded in Australia. There were plenty of other waves up around the 17m mark recorded along the states wild West Coast around the same period also.

With more of the same expected today for Tassie and the low pressure system responsible now sending waves further north what does it means for surfers? Well, for the Tassie devil hell men it means a lot, with such large swells fickle breaks that require extreme conditions like this to fire will no doubt be getting a looking to. Sydney’s outlook a lot tamer as explained by Weatherzone.com.au meteorologist Martin Palmer, “We have four-metre swells down the south coast and peaking at about three metres in Sydney and, while it isn’t quite the 18 metres Tassie is having, it is still big and heavy…”

The two offending and beautiful low pressure systems seen bottom right heading for New Zealand.

For the East Coast, anywhere from Southern Victoria up to Byron Bay, a swell prediction like this means hope, fear and trepidation. For lovers of big waves its hope that the swell may peak around the 12-foot-plus mark. For those that are learning or afraid of larger waves, the fear you may be feeling is nothing to be ashamed of. The long waits between sets might even have you thinking it’s safe to surf when actually the ocean is just foxing. Trust your fear.

 

Trepidation is something we all feel when the ocean comes alive like this and it pays to stay calm if you’re up for a paddle (or tow). Bad decisions can lead to dire situations. Something former world champ and Discovery Channel Storm surfer MR Tom Carroll agrees with. “I’ve decided to go for a stand up paddle with Bruce Raymond at a break across the Hawkesbury River [the Central Coast], I need to contain my froth when it gets big like this, and having this session with Bruce will calm me down. I’ll get the ski out early tomorrow morning.”

As I write this Sydney is between the four-to-six feet with larger sets breaking out on the open water bombies like Long Reef. Some online forecasters are saying that should increase dramatically into the afternoon – but as is often the case rival sites also have the swell peaking at a dramatically smaller six feet.

Despite the advent of wave forecasting technology the exciting thing about surfing is you still never can tell. Getting to the beach is the only way you’ll truly get a feel for what’s happening.

Fingers crossed we see some big swells and nice offshore conditions over the weekend.

NOTE: It must be said that these records don’t go back very far. Bigger waves have most certainly charged through Australian waters in years gone by.

And what about the largest wave ever recorded?

The “Awesome Stats” section of Extreme Science claims the biggest wave on record occurred in Lituya Bay [Pic above left, by Byron Hale.] on the southern coast of Alaska in 1958.

An earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale hit the area and shook loose an estimated 40 million cubic yards of dirt and glacier from a mountainside at the head of the bay. When the debris hit the water, a massive 1,720-foot wave was created and washed over the headland.

How did the scientists know the wave was so incredibly enormous? Simple. To measure the height of the wave, scientists found the high-water mark, the line where the water reached its highest point on land.

Keep in mind that this probably isn’t the biggest wave ever, just the biggest witnessed by a human. As a matter of fact, three fishing boats witnessed the Lituya Bay event. Unfortunately, two people on one of the boats were killed. Incredibly, the other two boats rode the waves and their occupants survived.

 

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