Remember that most of people in history that dealt with waves like this did so in a ship made of wood. I struggle to think of what an incredible ordeal an ocean crossing must have been.

Imagine being on a boat 600 years ago in waves like this thinking that you could fall off the planet at any moment

My dad was a Merchant Marine and he sailed for 42 years... He always said, "no matter how big you think you are, the ocean is always bigger...you can be on a crest at one moment then looking up at a 60 ft wall of water the next".

I worked in the North Sea on trawlers and got to see first hand how crazy it could get. Best example was trawling one day and it was stunning - barely a wind and perfect for us. Some older experienced crew suddenly began running around screaming. The trawler engine went to full revs, we altered course and as fast they could were winching the nets back up from the sea bed. A crewman grabbed me and began shouting orders what to be doing. As we worked furiously to those tasks, I shouted to him what was happening. I'll never forget his words as he almost shouted and spat them out with a fear in his eyes - "Green water. It's green water. Did you not see it". I did see it but thought it was the sun moving behind a small cloud - not so. Seems that those old men knew a thing or two and that a sudden change in the sea there meant a terrible storm was coming in fast. I could see nothing and half laughed at him but he was furious. He screamed at me to stop and to keep working fast. I kid ye not - within 10 minutes of that initial change in the colour of the sea water a storm was brewing. It had come from nowhere. It appeared above us and around us. The winds and waves picked up fast. So fast that we still hadn't prepared for it fully and the heavy fishing net was still being winched up. We reached a point where we only had the net to finish bringing up. Some men held my upper arms with their hands and stared into my eyes. "Whatever happens, stay with the flotsun. If you see something floating, stuff it into your clothing" I was told. I was in a daze as they told me. It meant that they expected the trawler to sink. We wore floatation clothing and would float for the most but the sea was the killer - hypothermia. If we went in we had around 8 minutes before we'd die. Rescue would not reach us in time if we did and the men were telling me my body would float (if I did what they said) and my family would get closure on my death. The net was heavy and still coming up. The weight of the net meant that the trawler barely had the strength to go over the huge swell that had formed. The trawler was quite literally going through the huge waves at they pummeled the hull. We were in a sheltered part of the deck and would watch as the waves went over us and we'd exit the other side. The white foamy water and the more green solid colours was beautiful to watch. Eventually we got the net up. Too dangerous to lift it onto the deck and instead we chained it to the side. The whole time the skipper making a rapid race to a safe port. We eventually made it though coastguards were aware of us. They'd kept in constant contact throughout. That was the day I saw just how dangerous the sea could be.

I never knew I wanted videos of large waves hitting boats but here I am

I can tell by his laughter, he's 10 times the man I am

youtube: he’ll watch basically anything at this point

When you hear laughing it means "that was fun but we should have capsized."

All of this started with a video of a windmill being destroyed, then rocks falling in water, then boulders rolling down hills, and here we are

I'd pray in name of every single welder who had combined that stuff all together without any small mistake.

A wave like that hit a large trawler that I was on. It bent the front bulkhead and knocked out the primary radar. Also damage the secondary. We went back in using the foghorn at night like sonar. That's the last time I went offshore.

As a person who plans on, once retired, go cruising the world in a small (40-50 ft) sailboat. This thing really freaks me out. Since I learnt about 'rogue waves', I am rethinking the whole sailing thing.

When the vídeo is from 2008 but the comments are from 2 hours ago

Please note the diagnal approach to the incoming waves. I believe this is done to minimise hull stress by keeping the crest of the wave traveling from front to back while keeping the ship as level as possible. A similar approach is utilised when going over large obsticles in an off road vehicle to minimise thumping and keeping things as level as possible. If the ship were to head into the wave bow first, it would rise up from the front. The bow would get over the wave crest and then the rest of the ship would thump over the wave causing a catapult effect to the back. This would be very stressful on the structure. If the ship just let the wave hit them on the side, it could capsize the vessel. The diagnal approach seems the best approach to the waves.

I watch one wave video, now KZfaq thinks that's all I'm into. I guess this is my life now 🤷🏼‍♂️

The shipmen are speaking Dutch and saying "Shit dude look at that" "DAMN" "Jesus" and "What a Unit". Understandable reaction.

I admire the captain, the crew and the yard that built the ship.

Good surfing wave. I don't know why there's not more surfing out in the middle of the ocean.

Big respect to all sailors as they're far from home and close to danger

I REALLY love when youtube decides to recommend me decade old videos.

bro stellar job to that captain for spotting that wave forming and turning into it

Mate!!!!! That is terrifying. Either it was 30 metered or not, that's irrelevant. The ship was pretty close to snapping in two by the looks of things, or at least suffering irreversible damages. Thumbs up to the welders, ship builders and especially the crew and captain, if he was steering the ship.

I love these videos. It’s so scary but I’m watching it from the comfort of my own couch.

For those wondering how such waves are formed: When multiple smaller waves with the right frequency come together they can result in a way bigger wave.

Turns into a submarine for a few seconds.

They're just lucky the front didn't fall off! "A wave hit the ship!" "Is that unusual?" "Oh yeah, at sea? Chance in a million!"

watched one viral clip of water braking through restaurant and suddenly youtube thinks i like big waves hitting ships

Captain did a great job rolling to port over that wave. Imagine if he went head on? That would seriously be testing the engineering of that beautiful ship.

finally a good rogue wave video, bravo!

"Wat een ding joh" lmfao

After seeing these ships up close at the Panama Canal this video is mind blowing . That wave is like insane.

That butterfly feeling. I heard it in their voices.

I have to admit the captain did a hella job steering if he was the one steering the ship good video

No sailor worth his salt would underestimate the power and might of rogue waves.

1:01 all this happening but you're still fascinated by seeing Ronaldinho on board

My dad was a spice tradesman in the 13th century. He sailed around the whole world and told me there are no savages as scary as the ocean.

respect to the captain, what a control of such a rare rare adrenalized situation .....very talented to keep a big machine like that in even bigger waves

Shit you could see the hull torque

This is truly a rogue wave. So much higher than all the others. It breaks for such a long time.

The calm inside the cabin creates such a contrast with the ferocity of the waves outside -- just a few objects falling to the floor indicates any disturbance! And he's able to LAUGH!!! Kudos!!! 😺💕🐾

That's a big wave! also worth remembering the waves never look as big on film

Damn that must make you love life at that moment, no matter how experienced you are on these ships...

Perfect example of why you need to steer into a wave; if it hit sideways, the ship would either break or flip.

What makes the wave more horrifying is seeing how old the filming is as this would be something you see from the 196ps but in color as the old frame in the video makes it seem much more realistic in a way.

Somehow KZfaq figured I would watch this 12 years later

Yaaarrrrr, the seas were angry that day.

Well how I ended up here at 2:30 am is beyond me😂

Imagine being in seas like this and seeing the front of the boat go under and the ship plow underwater. This actually happened on the mv Derbyshire

Imagine the feeling in your gut as the wave picks you up and drops 60ft in 5 seconds

Mmm, I'm glad you mentioned that you saw it on Radar and fetched you camera. . Thinking and actting to share the information and pictures; that's what KZfaq is all about -thanks for posting. cheers.

Went from a cruise ship, to a normal ship being hit by a giant wave, to this

What is really interesting is the rushing sea foam prior to the large wave, which gives the impression of surface water moving faster than deeper water which is acting like a seashore and creating the white foam. This is the Mv.Metsaborg and this video is the only verified footage of a freak wave measuring 98ft from trough to crest. Incredibly scary... it's hard to see that height because the video compresses the image! But I remember reading about it at the time that scientist were able to measure it by the angles against ship measurements etc or something like that.

Well I'm on an drunken quarantine hotel adventure and somehow I've been enlisted into the merchant marine.

You actually captured a rogue wave on camera! Thats probably the biggest wave I have ever seen on film - probably bigger than all of the "biggest ever" waves surfed on Oahu. Thanks for posting. Shows how even a full sized ship can be sunk.

You can see the entire ship bending as the wave hit 🤯

Your lives could have been saved purely because an engineer double checked his math and got a different answer.

As long as you have a good ship and a reliable crew, these are the moments you live for. From the language I think it's a Dutch ship.

This one one of the many theories of how the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank on that faithful evening in 1975,called a three sisters wave

Spent 3 years in the U.S. Navy sailing the Atlantic and Pacific. We got involved in so many storms that it became like a walk in the park. Just turned over and went back sleep.

It’s really hard to contemplate the stresses put on these ships.

They got so lucky that wave crested before it got to them.

"does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours."

All i can think about is the crew standing at 15-20° having a casual talk 😂

11 years later. KZfaq: I think it's time........

That looks bloody scary. Thanks for posting the statistics of your ship sounds like the size of freight ships that we get here in the Channel Islands (because of small harbours). I think I would have been seasick if I was on there in these waves. Luckily you did not have to bail out into a liferaft or the waves would have looked a million times bigger.

Love how that monster wave looks menacing in the distance at 0:25

Really gives you an appreciation for ancient cultures that dared to enter the sea in wooden ships.

These ships are like cities on the water. And these waves make it look like a toy. Now imagine being on that ship and seeing those waves in person. Terrifying

What’s the chances of a wave like that coming at you in the whole ocean? They must be so frequent. Insanity

‘Wat een ding joh’ is not the reaction you normally have when your boat almost does a 90° turn lmaoo. Respect

The fact that's its in 240p. And that mechanical humming with the background noise sounds like the entire sea is growling at you.

They are lucky they were not 10 seconds faster. That breaking wave had a ton of energy and was waning when ot hit them.

Imagine taking a 💩 when a giant wave hits your ship

Much respect for all the saillors out there in there 40 ft boats, especially the solo once!

Incredible! I've been searching the internet for a "true" rogue wave video and i finally found one!

There’s a reason old maps have so many sea monsters depicted in deep oceanic areas. They had to imagine reasons for why no one returned.

That wave was the size of a building! 😲

These waves put tremendous amount of strain on the ships hull, modern ship building is impressive, steel ships have broken in half before from 30 metre waves.

Yet another legendary video posted over 12 years ago

I'm no captain but looks like he carefully negotiated with the wave to not snap in half but not get sideswiped.

Crazy how water gives life and can be so deadly.

11 years later I watch again in amazement.

The ocean is the most terrifying on this planet. I'd take being lost in the middle of the woods hands down over being stranded in the ocean.

I love the casual dutch chatting like they are watching this as if its a video

After getting back to port safely, I‘d write a thank you letter to the ship builder and designers.

I bet some water worlds out there have 1000 foot waves in stormy seas xD

I thought the waves were scarey enough before the big one came!

Wood tends to have natural floatyness to it while metal sinks like a rock. Idk.. people underestimate wooden ships. They’re more sturdy than they may appear. Tho I’d imagine that many were smashed by great waves too without a doubt.

As big as that wave looked bet it was bigger to the seaman looking at it !!! Like a cliff Amazing seamanship! You have to admire the captain and crew and the ships themselves as well as the awesome ocean !

I feel for the next crew on this ship going out in those kind of seas. Especially if the owner cuts back on inspections

Seeing a video like this makes you appreciate the feat of Ferdinand Magellan and his crew in 1519 so much more. Truly an incredible feat

The fact that waves can move these 10,000 tonne hull ships like they're toys makes u realize how small everything is.

30 metre or not, they were in real danger as after the wave broke you can notice the ship undulating. This is how ships break in half when the structural safety limits are exceeded and the fate of all on board is then sealed.

youtube algorhythm is a thing of beauty, isn't it

I met a ship captain that showed me footage of a 100 ft rogue wave crashing into the 1000+ ft oil tanker he was piloting. It damaged several catwalks that went between structures on the deck. Crazy stuff!

I am amazed they were able to film this before pixels were invented.

0:16 the ship just bented!

How do these ships not split in half every bloody day? Ok, I'm getting the Lego out, MUUUUUM run the bath, it's SCIENCE time.

I guess that was two or three waves that were "melted together". Like an old and slow from three weaks, putting a brake on the others. So a new and fast gets blocked by it, and a third catches up so they reach their peak together.

It's unreal imagining the stresses on the hull of a ship. When stretched between two waves think of the weight in the middle. Then when balanced on a wave like a see saw imagine the force trying to break hull in half.