12 average or 12 max? What I'm talking about here is 12 foot, wind driven
waves, average height so that wave after wave is in the twelve foot range.
This means that the occasional big sea will be 18 to 20 feet. These will be
intimidating conditions to the average coastal sailor. They are not
uncommon overall but not frequently encountered by people who listen to
weather forecasts and have a choice about going out.

The distinction between swell and waves is significant. A 12 foot, long
period swell would hardly hamper a 30 foot boat at all whereas wind driven 8
footers could give it a real beating.

There is much more to it than the measurement from trough to crest which is
what got me asking about Lake Erie in the first place.

--

Roger Long



"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 17:56:54 GMT, "Roger Long"
wrote:
Twelve footers would
considered pretty big however, even on the ocean.

==============================================

Roger, if you can believe the NOAA weather buoys, 12 footers on the
open ocean are almost routine anytime the wing is blowing 25+, and
that happens with a great deal of frequency.