Help me guess wave height

[jcupo6]

Went out on the Delaware bay this weekend and were met with some choppy water. My buddy got a little seasick so we had to cut the day short. He seems to think the waves were 4-6' while I think they were more like 2-3'. What do you guys think? We're in my 22' Starcraft Holiday in about 15' of water in the video.

 

[LongLine]

Re: Help me guess wave height

2 to 3 at most.

Tom B.
(LongLine)

 

[sprintst]

Re: Help me guess wave height

2-3 average with a couple in there maybe touching 4

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: Help me guess wave height

1 1/2 - 2 ft.

 

[4JawChuck]

Re: Help me guess wave height

1 1/2 - 2 ft.

I agree, I've been in 4 footers before and you would not be holding the camera...you would be heading for shore!

 

[thurps]

Re: Help me guess wave height

Lot more to waves than height. Swell height, and duration which is more important than height. Wind wave (chop) height. Mixed swell duration and height. Most of all, the combination of all the above.

 

[Shamus O'toole]

Re: Help me guess wave height

2-3 with a short duration between waves. Tell your buddy they always seem bigger when your sick.

 

[jcupo6]

Re: Help me guess wave height

Thanks guys, I will let him know he was way off and to take some dramamine before we go out next week! All in all it was a fun day. This was the first trip with the boat where we didn't have any issues. Didn't catch any fish, but we really weren't out that long.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Help me guess wave height

Pretty typical wave pattern for the area. Didn't see anything close to 3' in that clip.

No white caps so the winds where under 12 kts and with that the wave heights are 2' and under. Could still run at cruise speed (27 kts) through that stuff.

 

[jcupo6]

Re: Help me guess wave height

Pretty typical wave pattern for the area. Didn't see anything close to 3' in that clip.

No white caps so the winds where under 12 kts and with that the wave heights are 2' and under. Could still run at cruise speed (27 kts) through that stuff.

It's tough to see in the video, but there were some white caps, and the winds were blowing a steady 17-20 kts.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Help me guess wave height

It's tough to see in the video, but there were some white caps, and the winds were blowing a steady 17-20 kts.

In 17-20kt. winds you would have a lot more than "some? white caps.
In those types of winds the top of the waves would have been white with obvious signs of spray coming off of the tops.

Here is a quick and easy method to determine wind strengths from observation.

7-10 kts. = scattered whitecaps
11-16 kts. = numerous whitecaps
17-21 kts. = many whitecaps; some spray

FWIW: Brandywine Light recorded avg winds 14 kts on Saturday and 11 kts on Sunday. Wave heights, 2 ft.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Help me guess wave height

In 17-20kt. winds you would have a lot more than "some? white caps.
In those types of winds the top of the waves would have been white with obvious signs of spray coming off of the tops.

Here is a quick and easy method to determine wind strengths from observation.

7-10 kts. = scattered whitecaps
11-16 kts. = numerous whitecaps
17-21 kts. = many whitecaps; some spray

FWIW: Brandywine Light recorded avg winds 14 kts on Saturday and 11 kts on Sunday. Wave heights, 2 ft.

Averages are fine as a guideline....as is your table....(but the difference between "some" and "numerous" can be somewhat ethereal...)....and you have not even asked where the OP was on the water; it is a bit presumptuous to assume that he did not gather his data from the most applicable source.

With a bit more experience yourself, you will come to recognise that readings from one location can be quite misleading in another, and that averages are not much of a comfort when you are out in peak conditions.

Equally FWIW, Ship John Shoal reported extended periods of 17-20 Knot winds on Saturday...and he may well have been closer to that location.

 

[jcupo6]

Re: Help me guess wave height

In 17-20kt. winds you would have a lot more than "some? white caps.
In those types of winds the top of the waves would have been white with obvious signs of spray coming off of the tops.

Here is a quick and easy method to determine wind strengths from observation.

7-10 kts. = scattered whitecaps
11-16 kts. = numerous whitecaps
17-21 kts. = many whitecaps; some spray

FWIW: Brandywine Light recorded avg winds 14 kts on Saturday and 11 kts on Sunday. Wave heights, 2 ft.

Not sure why you have to argue, I was just asking for everyones opinion to settle a friendly argument. In your first post you claimed there were "no" whitecaps and judging by your chart there must have been "numerous" whitecaps, so obviously it's difficult to tell from the video.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Help me guess wave height

Jerry, Were you in the area of Ship John Shoal?
I'm guessing that's where you got your wind speeds.
Of course I could be wrong too....
You were there.... we weren't.

 

[jcupo6]

Re: Help me guess wave height

Jerry, Were you in the area of Ship John Shoal?
I'm guessing that's where you got your wind speeds.
Of course I could be wrong too....
You were there.... we weren't.

Close! I was prolly about 4-5 miles away, around Ben Davis Point Shoal.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: Help me guess wave height

Its all relative..
2 foot seas with wind in a tin can may have a huge effect on your ride..
While same seas in a heavy glass boat wont feel as bad.

Sucks your friend went green on ya...I kept my nephew out for an extra 2 hours just because I warned him I would if he did, he did and I did what I said..lol

He has sea legs now )

 

[jcupo6]

Re: Help me guess wave height

Its all relative..
2 foot seas with wind in a tin can may have a huge effect on your ride..
While same seas in a heavy glass boat wont feel as bad.

Sucks your friend went green on ya...I kept my nephew out for an extra 2 hours just because I warned him I would if he did, he did and I did what I said..lol

He has sea legs now )

Yeah, he's usually fine I guess it was just a bad day for him. He still felt sick later that night right before going to sleep! Now that the boats good to go trips will not be cut short, if passengers get sick they will have to swim back!

 

[dingbat]

Re: Help me guess wave height

Not sure why you have to argue, I was just asking for everyones opinion to settle a friendly argument. In your first post you claimed there were "no" whitecaps and judging by your chart there must have been "numerous" whitecaps, so obviously it's difficult to tell from the video.

I was trying to give you some insight into how to assess the situation for yourself. Take what you want from it.

 

[capt sam]

Re: Help me guess wave height

In 17-20kt. winds you would have a lot more than "some? white caps.
In those types of winds the top of the waves would have been white with obvious signs of spray coming off of the tops.

Here is a quick and easy method to determine wind strengths from observation.

7-10 kts. = scattered whitecaps
11-16 kts. = numerous whitecaps
17-21 kts. = many whitecaps; some spray

FWIW: Brandywine Light recorded avg winds 14 kts on Saturday and 11 kts on Sunday. Wave heights, 2 ft.

normally I'd agree with that as a general statement but there's a lot of variables, wind direction and tides are big factors. An east wind of 15kts here doesn't produce much but a west wind would. those are 2' swells with a few 3' rolling in.

 

[waynehol]

Re: Help me guess wave height

Looks like 2 footers unless you are puking, then they are 5-6