Rouge waves

[TiNTiN]

Hey guys just wanted to post an event that happened on the weekend. my dad was fishing on the Fido's reef ( notheren NSW near cook island ) and was not doing too bad with the fish. when heading back in for another drift he was hit from behind by a 4m rouge wave which swamped the 18ft markem whaler boat sending him sideways and then rolling the boat over.
He was caught under the boat for a few seconds then managed to swim out from under it. he then sat on top of the over turned boat and inflated life jacket took a moment to gather his head. a near by boat fishing the same area saw the whole thing and raced over to rescue him and call the air sea rescue to inform them what had happened.

after towing the upturned boat most of the way in (upside down) the then left the boat anchored near the pumping jetty and left it up to us to get it turned up the right way and get it back through the bar....... (very nice of them). thankfully the guys from the diving charter at the fingle boat ramp help dad get it back in and put back on the trailer.

mum and the rest of the family are just thankful that dad is ok and only came out of this with a couple of scatches. of corse he was most upset about his pride and dream boat but thats understandable.

after getting home he then told me that the esky he had the fish in was still in the boat.lol

[BaitThrower]

so this is the same boat as in the other thread with pictures?
Sorry to hear about the rogue wave. Thats why they are caleld Rogues.. They are a freak event. Lucky no one (apart fromt he boat of course) was injured!

[Wheelchairguy]

yea it's the same boat.

I also want to mention that Pete isn't just some guy with a cat, this is a guy that worked for Coastguard for years and has all the experience under the sun when it comes to the handling of boats so it's not like he didn't know what he was doing

It was a freak accident and we are all happy he is ok.

[Jackinthebox]

Sorry to hear about your dad's mishap, hope he had insurance for the new merc's, I would hate to see my new 50 4 stroke upside down & all my gear on the bottom.

Glad to hear he is alright & well done to them for getting the boat righted.

One thing though, Fidos breaks intermittently when small and regularly once the swell gets over a metre or so. There is no such thing as a rogue wave, only a bigger one than usual. This sometimes happens when swells double up & arrive at the same time. Happens regularly throughout the day, if you don't believe me, just study wave readings from waverider buoys and you will see what i mean ..... for 10 minutes waves of 1.5 mtrs & then bang! a set of 2.5 mtr waves, then back to 1 mtr waves, etc, etc. The concept of the rogue wave has been invented by the media who know nothing about the ocean and then report on rock fishing accidents or boat mishaps like this.

Sorry mate .... this saying just gives me the sh%ts! If you have surfed for a long time or have spent a lot of time on the ocean, you learn to never trust her.

Especially around open ocean bommies like fidos.

Mick

[honda900]

Tintin,

was talking to your dad at christmas, probly doesnt remember me but, was really sorry to see his pride and joy like that.


Regards
Honda

[Jeremy]

I went over on the Caloundra bar in 2001 hit from behind coming back in waiting for a wave to follow in. Error of judgement and bit of bad luck.

I would say that it would be the same in your dad's case. Error of judgement and bit of bad luck. No point blaming the ocean for rogue waves. Swells come in sets with varying size and an experienced skipper is prepared for this. Don't look for someone/something else to blame.

Having been through it before, I do know what he is going through. Not nice. I hope he is insured. Don't let it put you off going outside. Get back on the horse asap. You will be a better skipper for the experience.

Jeremy

[nigelr]

Can relate to this scenario only too well.
Last trip over the Urunga bar about 6 weeks ago.
Knew there was a lot of sand clogging the mouth, had warned friends but too stupid to take my own advice.
2/3rds out, over the first wave and confronted by a perfect 5 foot righthander.
Not advisable in a 4.2 open boat, as I'm sure you all know.
Couldn't outrun it sideways, only option to avoid swamping was to 'throw' the boat into the top corner of the pocket, at full bore.
Worked a treat, I saw and heard the boat make a perfect near-level touch down behind the wave just before I hit the water, having been thrown out when the lip flipped the boat side-on for an instant as it went through the wave.
Also ejected was my 220 litre poly esky, which smacked me very hard upside the head and literally near broke my shoulder on the way out.
Following this I had the pleasant task of swimming around after my boat till the motor conked out, all the while hoping no more 5 footers would appear, with a nice 20 stitch gash pi$$ing blood into the surf. Fortunately 40 years of boardriding and spearfishing enabled me to be at least a little bit calm, although it is amazing what one can achieve when the adrenaline is flowing at full bore.................
Thankfully the Tojo has never been great at idling in gear, and after a few minutes I was able to climb over the transom.
She re-started first pull, I cleared the remainder of the bar, and after shoving a clean rag on my noggin, decided I'd better call it a day and get home asap, the only sensible decision I made that morning!
My tiller extension had also gone over, along with my anchor and rope, so I had to re-cross the bar driving from the rear thwart, not good at all, I was lucky she had only taken on about 200 litres during the episode.
Passed my esky in the break but just had to keep motoring, the 3 kms back up-river with the cold NW blowing onto the gash in my head was most uncomfortable!
Not a pleasant experience, but definitely one to learn from, with a nice big ugly scar to remind me of my own stupidity, and the loss of my prized esky!
My great good fortune was not being swamped by proceeding large waves, although given the knock on the head, could have been a goner that day, wouldn't have been the first on this bar.............
Rogue wave? Certainly no others came through that size while I was out there, but as stated above, you take on the ocean at your own risk.
One day she loves you, the next she'll kill you if you take her for granted.
Cheers.

[Davey1]

Thanks Nigelr for your story. As a novice reading this it might sound a bit dramatic but reading of your experience may have saved my life. I have about 19 hours (in)experience so far in my first boat (Sea Ray 175). That's it apart from some small sailing boat & windsurfer experience in sheltered waters as a young fella.

Have been getting a bit cocky lately going out the GC Seaway and along parallel to Main Beach and another trip from the Seaway out all the way up the outside of Sth Stradbroke and back in through the Jumpinpin bar, obviously getting way ahead of myself. Won't be going out there again after reading of yours & the cat's experiences.

Is there anyone around offering boat handling courses, I mean other than the basic rules of the road type course it takes to get a licence?

[Jackinthebox]

Davey1,

Bill Corten does bar crossing/offshore fishing courses, advertises in Bush & beach or Qld Fishing monthly(one of the two) all the time.

Mick

[samson]

Mick its funny you mentioned bill cortons bar crossing courses he nearly flipped his boat crossing recently at south passage doing something he should know better , going back for someones hat when taking the crew from hook line and sinker out to do some filming the wave hit them broadside and filled the boat and wrecked the camera acquipment putting a stop to any filming for the day and wrecking the whole planned trip for the boys he should have known better and practiced what he preached.

[skipalong]

sorry to hear that mate

[Davey1]

Thanks for that, going to look him up.

[Cloud_9]

gaday all hope your dad gets his boat back up and running.
I was the guy who's boat your dad waited on and radioed the airsea resque from.
the conditions were shite and rouge wave is not correct.
they where coming throw in sets about 3 minites apart and they were huge.
with a 2 meter swell the fido's and 9 mile had 4-5m waves cresting
there was a definate pattern. he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
shame about the fish. the dive guys should be able to get his gear back.
Cheers Cloud 9