Here's a maritime mystery that was finally solved over 20 years ago. For centuries, captains and mates have told of rogue waves that were the cause of misfortunes the world over. Courts of inquiry were quick to dismiss such reports as seafarer's imaginations or excuses for poor seamanship. Their cases where not helped when scientists claimed that such waves were mathematically impossible.

On New Years Day, 1995, just such a rogue wave was captured by sophisticated scientific devices on a North Sea oil rig. Later, satellite scans of the ocean surface revealed many such waves occurring as frequently as three per week, worldwide. Just goes to show that sailors never lie, unless they do!

Thanks to the Old Salt Blog for this story.

http://www.oldsaltblog.com/2016/01/remembering-the-first-rogue-wave-new-...