AND OTHER WATER WAVES 81 



wave-length by the position of crests with relation 

 to the bow and stern of the vessel. Thus, when 

 sailing by the Allan liner Tunisian, in 1901, the 

 chief officer informed me that in a storm in the 

 Atlantic the ship generally " took three waves/' 

 which means that when one crest is at the bow 

 and another at the stern there would be a third 

 crest between. In other words, there would be 

 two sea -waves to the ship's length. The Tunisian 

 is 520 feet long, which would make the apparent 

 wave-length 260 feet. 



In my endeavours to get at the truth about the 

 dimensions of sea -waves, I have done three 

 things : first, made measurements myself ; second, 

 examined the records of measurements made by 

 others ; third, consulted officers on all ships by 

 which I have travelled as to what their experi- 

 ence leads them to suppose the height and length 

 of waves to be. Now, the officers of the Merchant 

 Service have far more experience of weather in 

 the open oceans than most naval officers, for ships 

 of war keep mostly to the vicinity of land. A 

 fortiori their experience is far greater than that 

 of landsmen such as myself. On the other hand, 

 those to whom I have spoken on the subject have 

 not actually made measurements. The result of my 

 three lines of inquiry is as follows : 



As regards the height of waves, the general 



