60 WAVES OF THE SEA 



Conclusion as to Height of North Atlantic Waves 



Thus concordant observations indicate that any- 

 where in the North Atlantic with sea-room of from 

 600 up to certainly 1,000 and perhaps 2,000 miles 

 the height of the large waves during ordinary 

 strong gales is practically constant, being not less 

 than 43 feet. 1 



With regard to the height which is momentarily 

 attained by peaks of water shooting upwards where 

 waves cross, the late Lord Kelvin informed me that 

 he had measured one 60 feet high, and this 

 measurement confirms the concordant guesses of 

 several officers on North Atlantic liners whom I 

 have consulted on the subject. I have not myself 

 seen anything nearly so high. 



Accounts not infrequently appear in the news- 

 papers of some great wave encountered by the 

 fast Atlantic liners. These are sometimes reported 

 as 80, 90, and even 100 feet high. This height 

 invariably relates to the altitude above the flotation 

 line of the superstructures which have been deluged 

 with water. This is not, properly speaking, the 

 height of a wave, but merely the height to which 

 a body of water is thrown when a wave breaks 

 on board. This increases with the speed of the 

 1 See Note on p. 138. 



