"It came from nowhere, snapping giant ships in two. No one believed the
survivors . . . until now" --New Scientist magazine cover, June 30, 2001
Rogue waves are the focus of this book. They are among the waves
naturally - served by people on the sea surface that represent an
inseparable feature of the Ocean. Rogue waves appear from nowhere, cause
danger, and disappear at once. They may occur on the surface of a
relatively calm sea and not reach very high amplitudes, but still be
fatal for ships and crew due to their unexpectedness and abnormal
features. Seamen are known to be unsurpassed authors of exciting and
horrifying stories about the sea and sea waves. This could explain why,
despite the increasing number of documented cases, that sailors'
observations of "walls of - ter" have been considered ctitious for a
while. These stories are now addressed again due to the amount of
doubtless evidence of the existence of the phenomenon, but still without
suf cient information to - able interested researchers and engineers to
completely understand it. The billows appear suddenly, exceeding the
surrounding waves by two times their size and more, and obtaining many
names: abnormal, exceptional, extreme, giant, huge, s- den, episodic,
freak, monster, rogue, vicious, killer, mad- or rabid-dog waves, cape
rollers, holes in the sea, walls of water, three sisters, etc.