Thanks!
I’m glad that you jumped in Steve, as I wasn’t sure that I had explained that correctly. BTW: I loved your slide show. Now I really want to get out to the Pacific Northwest (but I’m going back to college, so that will likely have to wait for a couple of years).
Anyhoo I just wanted you to know that my kayaking friend (who also saw your slide show)and I have started giving waves animal names. So you made an impression. 
~ Arwen ~
you forgot
"meh" as the third wave height.
you forgot
hoe de hum…just another microscopic wave. 
steve
"Not Worth Talking About…"
is another category. And, the past 3 or 5 days on the Atlantic was a “carpenter’s dream,” or "vertically challenged, or quite simply, “Pathetic!”
sing
Me Too! As In The…
“knocking of my knees” and the “thumping of my heart.” Once in awhile, I hear this voice screaming “What the heck are you do out here!?” Then, I realize it was me. Oh crap!
sing
3 Things That Ring My …
Bull$h**tOmeter:
1.Sex Life
2.Gas Mileage
3.How big the waves were.
If the usable part of a wave is, say 2/3rds of the area between trough and lip, then that gets my vote. Hard to tell when your hunched over the deck or out to the side how big it is, let alone the adrenalin rush. The waves maximum height doesn’t stay up all that long, front or back. That’s why when we’re coming in, the Hawaian method is good to me because I get a good look at it in a more stable seating position. The “my eyes are 34 inches above the waterline” method doesn’t really work because the measurement was taken with a ramrod straight back, not to mention where your butt actually sits in the kayak, on the water.
Rob
“Consistency…”
– Last Updated: May-19-05 3:26 PM EST –
in the measurement is the key. Doesn't matter if you want to measure from the front or from the back, as long as you do it consistently and with some measure of reliability. So, if the "oh crap" factor kicks at 4' (measured from the front" or 2' (from the back), it really doesn't matter as long as you know where your "oh crap" meter kicks in. :)
In terms of adrenaline rush, there's not a consistent thing across the differemt paddlers. I know my "rush" level is higher to get to than it was a year ago. A month of so ago, some surf newbies joined me on the waves and they couldn't get past the break zone. For me, it was pretty ho-hum. At the same time, I see some surf kayakers on waves that they are just chillin' on that I would not even attempt to paddle through.
sing
Consistency is hard
For me, how big things look depends a lot on what boat I’m in, how I feel, and even whether it’s sunny or overcast. I mostly stick to small, medium, big, and oh !@#$, and if I have to guess size, I sorta tend to rely on what the forecast was and whether what I’m seeing on the water is at, above, or below the average of what I’ve seen before on that kind of forecast. Not very scientific, but I’ve never been able to get very far with the eyeball-to-waterline method.
Old and Gray and Overweight
Is Called San Onofre!
Well, it’s like this
I estimate what I really think it was.
Then I triple it to make any stories more entertaining.
- Big D
As I Said, “Boardies” Can Be Our…
“friends”, or measuring sticks.
Waist:
http://www.nesurf.com/Pics/gal/Massachusetts/0102w4.jpg
Chest:
http://www.nesurf.com/Pics/gal/Massachusetts/0012chrislb.jpg
Shoulder:
http://www.nesurf.com/Pics/gal/Rhode_Island/0309_18rsmallri3.jpg
Head High:
http://www.nesurf.com/Pics/gal/Rhode_Island/0410_24cterry1.jpg
Double Overhead:
http://www.nesurf.com/Pics/gal/Rhode_Island/0309_06dfitzgeraldrugg.jpg
sing
(who tries to stay friendly with the boardies)
They can be useful…
But they tend to stay in the surf! I should have been clearer above that I was thinking more of the outside stuff. Surf is easier, partly because of those handy yardsticks on their boards and partly because it’s usually steeper, straighter, and cleaner than mixed-up stuff on the outside.
Oh !@#$, however, is pretty much a surf-only category, so I really was confusing things. Mea culpa!
Judging wave height from the BACK …
… of the wave has no value when standing on the beach, which is the vantage point from which most of us assess water conditions prior to heading out in them.
And, assuming waves increase in height as they come ashore, when you are out in a kayak or other watercraft and looking back toward shore to observe the backs of the waves, you are seeing waves larger than those you are currently in. And measuring wave height from the back is made even more problematic by their gradually sloped backs; just as it is more difficult to measure the rise of a gentle hillside than it is to measure a clearly defined ledge or cliff.
There is certainly an emotional, “Holy Sh*t!” element to assessing wave height from the front, especially as it approaches you, especially from the vantage point of a low-slung kayak, but it still seems to me the most precise aspect to measure.
It would perhaps be an instructive practice to observe and estimate wave heights from their backs, then paddle in and observe the same waves from the shore. This double vantage point should help develop the skill of accurately assessing true wave height from the backs.
Trough to Crest Sounds Better…
over a beer, thats for sure.
We learned the 1/2 distance measure in an oceanography class years ago. It seemed to me since then everyone was using the trough to crest method so I’ve gone with that. Guess we ought to specify when reporting.
crest to trough…
is what makes sense to me, because this is the distance you can plummet (either in a ride, or an over-the-falls event). As Sing pointed out, board surfers are a good “yardstick”. Another yardstick: if an approaching wave “touches” the horizon, it is about 2 feet high. You can extrapolate up from there (for example, “that wave appeared to be about 2 feet above the horizon, therefore 4 feet total”), but it is less accurate as the wave size increases.
Tony
guessin’ from the pics
these are good shots. the guy squatting in ‘chest’ makes it a tough call but my guess from the backside would be as follows:
Waist:
http://www.nesurf.com/Pics/gal/Massachusetts/0102w4.jpg
under 2’
Chest:
http://www.nesurf.com/Pics/gal/Massachusetts/0012chrislb.jpg
2’
Shoulder:
http://www.nesurf.com/Pics/gal/Rhode_Island/0309_18rsmallri3.jpg
2-3’
Head High:
http://www.nesurf.com/Pics/gal/Rhode_Island/0410_24cterry1.jpg
4+’
Double Overhead:
http://www.nesurf.com/Pics/gal/Rhode_Island/0309_06dfitzgeraldrugg.jpg
6-7’
steve
Does it add up?
>The scientific method - Schizo is right, that is the technical definition of wave amplitude. Sometimes called swell height too, that’s the measure buoys give.<
That only hlaf of “wave to trough”!
So, Coffee has been telling the truth after all. He said the wave was 4’ and the buey said 2. Both were right.
Thankyou…
bottom topography and wave height
Bottom topography plays a huge role in the size and shape of breakers. Points do in fact focus waves provided the point extends as a feature of the bottom some distance offshore and doesn’t just jut up from great depth. Wavelength is also very important. Short period waves will actually lose height as they near shore and encounter bottom friction. Long period waves can actually pile up and get taller at shore given the right topography.
Explanation: Wave speed is proportional to wave period (length that is, longer period waves have both longer wave-lengths and are travelling faster). Waves start to “feel” bottom when depth is 1/2 wavelength. This can be pretty deep with longer period waves that have wavelengths of 100s of meters. When there is a point under the water the center of the wave slows down first and the ends wrap in and the energy focuses on the peak. There are places in Costa Rica that pic up 16 second swells from the southern ocean. Sometimes these swells are only 3-4’ high in open water but break headhigh or better at the points (while only being thigh-waist in the coves). We don’t get many long period events on the southeast coast so this isn’t quite as important for surfing here but there is an effect. Here in central Florida there are sandbars that break better. The shoals at Ponce Inlet will be waste high peaks on a small lazy 1’ 12 second summer swell while the rest of the beach is ankle/knee shore break. I’ve seen Ponce go head high when the rest of the beach was waste/chest.
Another effect of bottom drag (especially down here where we have a WIDE shallow continental shelf) is that long perioed waves end up parallel to the beach no matter how steep the swell angle. The near shore end drags on the bottom and the wave turns toward the beach. This causes long period waves to “closeout” on beach breaks without good broken bars or points. It also shrinks the swell through loss of energy to bottom friction so that what we see on the beach is smaller than what shows on the South Hatteras buoy or the 120 Canaveral buoy.
Still haven’t ben there yet I bet! (NM)