Dave, I have a mental picture of a Tsunami tens of feet tall crashing through a coastal village. Some time ago I was sailing as a radio officer aboard a container ship. It was my first shipping experience in the Pacific. One afternoon (off the coast of Japan) I copied, via Morse Code, a warning signal followed by "tsunami warning". Fearing a devastating wall of water (possibly accompanied by Godzilla's appearance) I intently copied the broadcast that followed...... -.-. --.- - - - - - - - - - The warning specified a Tsunami of height 10 Centimeters ....about 5 inches. I was somewhat disappointed to say the least I thought we were in for a real adventure. We may or may not have experienced a Tsunami but it was hard to tell as seas commonly were 10 to 20 feet in the North Pacific during the winter. In any event, it was interesting to learn that the wave was not necessarily a huge event. But a quick change of tide totaling 5 inches could certainly break mooring lines of ships moored to a pier, strand a fisherman that had ventured to the end of a jetty or wash your precious kayak away from the beach during the camping trip. Many more Tsunami warnings were copied during my stint out there. I never did see Godzilla. Tom Rhode Island *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Nov 11 1999 - 13:53:23 PST
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