ABSTRACT
The cultures of all seafaring nations contain reports of ships being swamped by gigantic waves and of sightings of waves of unbelievable size. These waves appear suddenly, swallow a ship, and then vanish as quickly as they arise.
These gigantic (extreme) ocean waves differ from tsunamis. Tsunamis become dangerous only when they come to the coastal zone. On the contrary, catastrophic ocean waves most often arise far from the coast. The Beagle met an extreme wave near Cape Horn. Charles Darwin wrote, “At noon a great sea broke over us, …. The poor Beagle trembled at the shock, and for a few minutes would not obey her helm; but soon, …she righted and came up to the wind again. Had another sea followed the first, our fate would have been decided soon and forever…”. From Darwin’s description, it appears that this wave may be described as extreme. In this chapter, the theory of these waves is constructed.
