I've noticed the same thing. I know that the swell interval has as large an effect on how big the shore break is as does swell height. It seems like differences in swell interval may be enough to cause this apparent discrepancy (guess). A 5 foot swell with a 15 second interval will break in much deeper water than a 5 foot swell with a 10 second interval. www.surfline.com used to have a neat section call "waveology" that was the best written explanation of these things I have read. I can't find it on their web site now. Steve Brown -----Original Message----- Paddlewisers, ... A 4-foot swell will break in water 3 feet deep. The height of the wave at the time it breaks will be approximately 1.5 times its original deep-water height. The 4-foot swell will rise to a 6-foot crest before breaking in 3 feet of water." I then checked a couple of other books I've read, and the information Conflicted.... Foster and Hutchinson's 1.3 to 1.5 times the depth of the water is not a big difference, but Alderson and Pardy's .75 times is a big difference. Maybe the real difference here is that Alderson and Pardy are referring to swells, while Foster and Hutchinson are referring to waves. If that is the case, Alderson and Pardy's number is .5 times when referring to waves and is even a bigger difference. Is there something else going on here that I am missing? Duane Strosaker Southern California www.rollordrown.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Mar 10 2004 - 10:36:17 PST
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