We've all seen the sign on the internet, and many of us have made the pilgrimmage to see it in person.

But how many of us have actually witnessed a king wave?

I saw one yesterday. It scared the shiz out of me.

I was at Canal Rocks, fishing off the walkway. I'd read reports on the internet that you can climb down from the walkway and stand further out if you want to. At the time it was just starting to get light so I decided to stay on the walkway. I'm glad I did.

This was pretty much my view, minus the people and a lot darker:
/images/misc/forum-image-missing.gif

There was a good 3-3.5 metres between the bottom of the walkway, and the water channel there. Occasionally a wave would break over the rocks to the far left of the picture, and water would flow through the channel, much as this picture shows. Most of the time the water was reasonably still, there was a bit of movement, but not really moving very much.

I'd been there for about an hour when I heard a loud crash from a LARGE wave breaking, I looked at the bridge, and saw a fkn tsunami bearing down on it. The whitewater was over the walkway, and went halfway up the railing. I'm so glad I decided to set up away from the bridge -- I don't think it would have washed me off, but I would have gotten really wet. Had I decided to fish further out from the walkway on the rocks, then there is no way I would have stayed on the rocks. The set only had 2 waves in it, the second one was almost as big, it still washed over the bridge. After that had gone, everything settled down back to normal.


So that's a first -- I've actually seen a king wave. I'm not sure if you'd recognise it if you're surfing, you might just think "Fark I'm getting the hell away from that one" but in the context of standing on rocks, this one was as clear as day.


Has anyone else seen a king wave?

Yep, Rotto.

Freaked us out, had never seen a wave break in that spot then out of nowhere, brown shorts!

I can imagine the size of them. The huge rocks at Esperance where many foolish people lost their lives show evidence of waves over them. And I am talking about at least 10 M or more in height.

The location in the photo depicts a channel. That probably magnified the effects. It is a bit like a wind tunnel. I wonder of there are warning signs ? But would people give a damn about signs anyway ?

Holy Humps on the Horizon Nebbian, that's was big set.

I was 10 when I got washed along the rocks and into a culvert that drained the rocks at Sth Whale in Sydney. We'd been mucking around well above the tide when a monster wave came out of nowhere, heaps, heaps bigger than the sets.

It was very ouchy and cutty. Luckily I was able to wedge myself at some point and stop the drag ride. I didn't have brown shorts just red Speedos. It was a really embarrassing and painful experience. I looked like a stupid grom rubberneck because of a freak wave.

So is the sign back up at Gnarloo yet?

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GreenPat said..
So is the sign back up at Gnarloo yet?

yes!

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nebbian said..
We've all seen the sign on the internet, and many of us have made the pilgrimmage to see it in person.

But how many of us have actually witnessed a king wave?

I saw one yesterday. It scared the shiz out of me.

I was at Canal Rocks, fishing off the walkway. I'd read reports on the internet that you can climb down from the walkway and stand further out if you want to. At the time it was just starting to get light so I decided to stay on the walkway. I'm glad I did.

This was pretty much my view, minus the people and a lot darker:


There was a good 3-3.5 metres between the bottom of the walkway, and the water channel there. Occasionally a wave would break over the rocks to the far left of the picture, and water would flow through the channel, much as this picture shows. Most of the time the water was reasonably still, there was a bit of movement, but not really moving very much.

I'd been there for about an hour when I heard a loud crash from a LARGE wave breaking, I looked at the bridge, and saw a fkn tsunami bearing down on it. The whitewater was over the walkway, and went halfway up the railing. I'm so glad I decided to set up away from the bridge -- I don't think it would have washed me off, but I would have gotten really wet. Had I decided to fish further out from the walkway on the rocks, then there is no way I would have stayed on the rocks. The set only had 2 waves in it, the second one was almost as big, it still washed over the bridge. After that had gone, everything settled down back to normal.


So that's a first -- I've actually seen a king wave. I'm not sure if you'd recognise it if you're surfing, you might just think "Fark I'm getting the hell away from that one" but in the context of standing on rocks, this one was as clear as day.


Has anyone else seen a king wave?

Did you catch any fish ?

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Craig66 said..

nebbian said..
We've all seen the sign on the internet, and many of us have made the pilgrimmage to see it in person.

But how many of us have actually witnessed a king wave?

I saw one yesterday. It scared the shiz out of me.

I was at Canal Rocks, fishing off the walkway. I'd read reports on the internet that you can climb down from the walkway and stand further out if you want to. At the time it was just starting to get light so I decided to stay on the walkway. I'm glad I did.

This was pretty much my view, minus the people and a lot darker:


There was a good 3-3.5 metres between the bottom of the walkway, and the water channel there. Occasionally a wave would break over the rocks to the far left of the picture, and water would flow through the channel, much as this picture shows. Most of the time the water was reasonably still, there was a bit of movement, but not really moving very much.

I'd been there for about an hour when I heard a loud crash from a LARGE wave breaking, I looked at the bridge, and saw a fkn tsunami bearing down on it. The whitewater was over the walkway, and went halfway up the railing. I'm so glad I decided to set up away from the bridge -- I don't think it would have washed me off, but I would have gotten really wet. Had I decided to fish further out from the walkway on the rocks, then there is no way I would have stayed on the rocks. The set only had 2 waves in it, the second one was almost as big, it still washed over the bridge. After that had gone, everything settled down back to normal.


So that's a first -- I've actually seen a king wave. I'm not sure if you'd recognise it if you're surfing, you might just think "Fark I'm getting the hell away from that one" but in the context of standing on rocks, this one was as clear as day.


Has anyone else seen a king wave?

Did you catch any fish ?

A blind mullet..........

When they say "King Waves", are they referring to "Bomb Sets"? (aka 'out the fricken back!')

Just from experience surfing etc. my understanding is that out of one whole day of waves breaking, you will only get one or two that actually double the indicated swell size, with bomb sets being around about 1.5x indicated swell size.

So on a day that has a 1m swell it might go something like this:

*0.5m infrequent small waves
*1.0m standard wave sets coming in every 15 seconds or longer
*1.5m rogue bomb sets that come in every after every lot of five standard 1.0m wave sets or more
*2.0m king set that comes in once or twice over the entire day

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mazdon said..

GreenPat said..
So is the sign back up at Gnarloo yet?

yes!

Cool. Haven't been up there for quite a number of years now.

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GreenPat said..

mazdon said..

GreenPat said..
So is the sign back up at Gnarloo yet?

yes!

Cool. Haven't been up there for quite a number of years now.

Seriously epic part of the country... I could have stayed 3 months as others actually do


put it back at the top of your to do list Gpat!!

King waves are real...
As per the canal rocks story its not a wave thats once or twice the size of others, it is a wave so disproportionately bigger that it just makes everything else look like a little peeler..

The below video gives an example amd many on here would of seen it but its certainly worth a watch, this is only a " clean up set" it is not a king wave......however gives an example of how quickly things can change...
www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DMSIB-Ey-kKA&ved=0ahUKEwjv4qOb_brVAhWCpJQKHa4BC3wQwqsBCC4wAA&usg=AFQjCNF2hy71fPuuW9OR_OMcAaRQ3V_vRg



There are two distinct instances where I have seen king waves which will be etched into my mind for ever.

It was the cray season of 97 and we were out on first bank in 25 metres of water on acommercial cray boat, thats right 25 metres of water.... the swell was 3.5 metres and waves were featherung maybe half a kilometre in from us in the 18-20 metre depth range, dependent on speed of swell will determine what ratio of size to depth a wave will actually break.
Plenty of 4 metre swells throughout the morning with the odd 4.5 to 5 metre swell every few hours..
It was big and there were certainly waves a 60 foot cray boat could pull into if you were that way inclined.
In the peak of the tide (on both occasions whether coincidental or not i dont know) a wave came through which broke out half a kilometre further than we were in 28-30 metres of water ....It was at least an 8 metre swell line, as it peeled through it was like watching a cartoon, we headed for the "shoulder " and made it hust over the lip busting out two windows and copping a deck full of water, it peeled through the next kilometre or so making a terrifying sound and was to this day the largwst wave I have ever seen in real life, it was the equivelent to surfing head height beachies with a 25 foot waimea wave coming through...totally out of scale and totally not required.

The second time was actually at the bluff.. head height day sitting in on the reef heaps of decent gems and heaps of good waves.... A 4 -6x overhead set came through and took out the line up and really busted people up. 2014 june also right near high tide........
This set was ridiculous and how no one drowned was absolutely a miracle.. One guy was pretty busted up and everyone helped him through the keyhole and onto the rocks. It was horrific and if it had of been on the sunset surf or early morning in poor light someone would of drowned for sure...I dont like to put a foot size on waves but it was giant and could of easily won xxl wave of the year if anyone was another 500 metres out and had the balls to paddle in, the only thing i think that saved everyone was the fact it was so much bigger meant it had alrwady broken for 15 -20 seconds before it hit the line up, if it was 3/4 the size it would of killed people for sure.

And that my friends is a summary of two of my closest calls to davey jones locker

Seen plenty of massive waves over the years i've fished the northern cliffs and southern rocks but most of the time it just makes it unfishable. Only ever seen 1 king wave and it's the only time fishing has ever frightened me.

It was one of the "lower" and narrow ledges on the western side of Steep Point. Maybe Freight Trains or further south at the Washing Machine while it was fishable (calm and small swell). Little while later this massive wave forms out of nowhere, a few of us make it up the track with a few cuts and bruises and one bloke gets smashed and dragged on the rocks by the whitewater. To this day i still don't know how he didn't go over the side with his fishing gear. Seriously injured but alive.

I remember getting family photos at mushroom (?) rock in Kalbari in the 80s.
On the walk back. Wave broke over the top of it.
Almost got washed of the canal rocks bridge as a youngster too. Managed to hold on to dad. Not a king wave but didn't time the sets.

When this guy waves , someones gonna die for sure

A better version of the clean up set Raz posted earlier.

This photo probably doesn't do it justice but its one that still sticks out in my mind as one of the biggest ones I've seen coming at me.

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drewpweiner said..
When they say "King Waves", are they referring to "Bomb Sets"? (aka 'out the fricken back!')

Not really. The theory that seems to be most common is that 3 or 4 waves in 10,000 will be rouge waves. Along the coast it might only be a 3m wave but out wide it might be 30m. The Draupner oil rig is a great example of this and changed things significantly. Consistent waves in the 4m -12m range and then 1 22m+ wave came through.

In places like Carnavon (where the king waves kill sign is) or along the Zutydorp cliffs the rogue waves arent massive but still unexpected. Problem continues to gets worse for those not following the #1 rule when the white water shoots 30ft above the ledges.

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MDSXR6T said..

In places like Carnavon (where the king waves kill sign is) or along the Zutydorp cliffs the rogue waves arent massive but still unexpected. Problem continues to gets worse for those not following the #1 rule when the white water shoots 30ft above the ledges.

www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-14/fisherman-missing-after-being-swept-off-rocks-near-carnarvon/8803042

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Razzonater said..

In the peak of the tide (on both occasions whether coincidental or not i dont know)

My wave was at high tide. Looking at the tide charts for Gnaraloo, the guy that was swept off rocks yesterday had it happen just before the peak of the tide. Not sure if it's a definite correlation, but it sure does look like you should be more careful around the high tide mark.

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nebbian said..

www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-14/fisherman-missing-after-being-swept-off-rocks-near-carnarvon/8803042

Sad indeed. somehow people don't seem to understand the massive power the seas have. As I wrote in my previous post, I saw evidence of wave actions a long way from the sea level while admiring the views on a huge rock in Especrance. It would have been at least 10 M above or even more ! I suppose when a large wave hits the rock, such huge volume of water has nowhere to go but to rush upward. Probably like a Tsunami ?

Fishermen seemed to have death wishes to even go near those rocks. To be honest, my balls shrunk a bit when I looked down the edge. It is so bloody high and possibly slippery when wet too.

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nebbian said..
www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-14/fisherman-missing-after-being-swept-off-rocks-near-carnarvon/8803042

Really sad indeed and unfortunately Quobba has more than likely claimed another life.

Might have been a king wave, might have just been a big swell i don't know but that spot is 10m off the water and with the way it is, its very easy to be swept into the water if you turn your back to the ocean.

I don't know off his background or experience but there are (or was?) plaques etched into the rock next to where he was. Advising of both anchor tie points and memorials to previous people who lost their lives.

Some insane waves along our coast.
Nebs what were you fishing for?
Give me a bell next time as there are better options than Canel Rocks especially in those conditions. Were you wearing a life jacket? You got a death wish?
I'd rather die surfing a king wave than getting swept off the rocks by a king wave.
Stay safe!

Thanks Greeny, I'll give you a bell.

Was just checking it out, hadn't been there before and wanted to go on a bit of a dawn mission. Had read reports that there were some deep spots just off the rocks, and was hoping for a pre-dawn pinky with all the swell. After that was seeing if there were any herring around.

Didn't realise just how sketchy the place was. Probably won't be going back there unless the swell is right down!

Hey Nebs, I've lost my contacts. Text me your number.
Regarding Pinkies off the beach, think northerlies.
Herring, think closer to home
Let's catch up

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Greenroom said..
Were you wearing a life jacket? You got a death wish?
I'd rather die surfing a king wave than getting swept off the rocks by a king wave
Stay safe!

They found this blokes body this afternoon and he also wasn't wearing a life jacket. You'd think with life jacket technogy coming as far as it has, it'd be a given to wear one when you are fishing serious spots.

In this situation i think it just came down to inexperience and really rough conditions. Perhaps he just didn't know any better, perhaps he took his eyes off the water momentarily but the poor bloke would have stood no chance getting smashed against the cliffs.

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MDSXR6T said..

Greenroom said..
Were you wearing a life jacket? You got a death wish?
I'd rather die surfing a king wave than getting swept off the rocks by a king wave
Stay safe!

They found this blokes body this afternoon and he also wasn't wearing a life jacket. You'd think with life jacket technogy coming as far as it has, it'd be a given to wear one when you are fishing serious spots.

In this situation i think it just came down to inexperience and really rough conditions. Perhaps he just didn't know any better, perhaps he took his eyes off the water momentarily but the poor bloke would have stood no chance getting smashed against the cliffs.

Around the great southern region, inflatable life jackets are available for free hire..

R.I.P.

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jbshack said..

MDSXR6T said..

Greenroom said..
Were you wearing a life jacket? You got a death wish?
I'd rather die surfing a king wave than getting swept off the rocks by a king wave
Stay safe!

They found this blokes body this afternoon and he also wasn't wearing a life jacket. You'd think with life jacket technogy coming as far as it has, it'd be a given to wear one when you are fishing serious spots.

In this situation i think it just came down to inexperience and really rough conditions. Perhaps he just didn't know any better, perhaps he took his eyes off the water momentarily but the poor bloke would have stood no chance getting smashed against the cliffs.

Around the great southern region, inflatable life jackets are available for free hire..

R.I.P.

Yep Down South Camping And Outdoors in Margs hire out life jackets for free.

Link below has a list of places offering free life jacket loans in WA

recfishwest.org.au/news/fishing-safety-its-your-responsibility/

I'm not a fisherman, but if I was going to consider fishing on the rocks, I'd use an inflatable jacket with built in harness, then tether to the anchor points provided.

I have a Spinlock deck vest that has these for on the boat, they're pretty comfortable.If you expect to get drenched, then maybe a manual inflate version.

Great vids. You can keep those waves to yourselves thanks.