82 WAVES OF THE SEA 



opinion of the officers of the Merchant Service 

 accords with remarkable closeness with the 

 measurements which have been made by Dr. 

 Scoresby, Lieutenant Paris, Captain David, and Mr. 

 Ogilvie. My own measurements confirm both, as 

 far as the heights of waves in the North Atlantic 

 are concerned. " About 40 feet " for the fairly 

 frequent larger waves in an ordinary North Atlantic 

 storm is the general verdict of the officers on the 

 liners, and they are generally prepared to concede 

 a few feet more for waves in exceptional storms, 

 especially in the region of westerly winds in the 

 Southern Ocean. From the records discussed in 

 detail above I find that the larger waves in ordinary 

 North Atlantic storms attain 43 feet and in ex- 

 ceptional storms both here and in the South Indian 

 Ocean attain, and perhaps surpass, 45 feet. The 

 possibility of an occasional peak of water shooting 

 up to a height of 60 feet before breaking is some- 

 times admitted, but those whom I have consulted 

 generally feel that there is little to be gained by 

 guessing at the figures applicable to such circum- 

 stances when they have had no reliable standard 

 of measurement. 



In the matter of wave-length in the North 

 Atlantic, however, I find the general opinion pf 

 officers on the liners to be that 600 feet would be 

 an enormous wave-length, and, if intended as an 



