[Eric in the Ozarks]

I read this report of the 100 foot wave that hit the QE II in 1995 and wonder if the new, much taller vessel could survive a repetition.

[finnman69]

Not the big one, but a big one hitting the QE2...

[finnman69]

http://www.oceanliner.org/qe2_31st_year.htm

And there have been several critical situations in the 30-year-long history of QE2. In September 1995, for example, a hurricane made a 30-meter wave roll over the vessel at 2:30 a.m.

"I was on the bridge," remembers Captain Warwick, "and it was pitch dark. The wave came out of the darkness, directly toward us." Even the white-bearded master of the QE2 was helpless. "You can only look to the side and hope that the bridge windows don't break.

[hoagy62]

If she takes the wave head-on (like QE2 did), she should have no problems and only minor damage...UNLESS the trough BEHIND the wave gets really deep. If most of the hull is out of the water, there's a chance the strain of several thousands tons of unsupported weight hanging out there in open air COULD cause the hull to break..and then she'd be in real danger of sinking.

If she takes the wave from the side..*gulp*...let's not think about that, shall we?