Surf Rider

I don't wish to make light of the tsunami that killed so many people and destroyed so many lives, but I wanted to pass along this video I found that was released by the Japanese Coast Guard (海上保安庁 Kaijō Hoan-chō) a few days ago, that shows one of their boats, the 970-tonne Matsushima, riding the tsunami waves in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of northern Japan. The tsunami waves were generated by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake 30 minutes earlier on March 11, 2011.

The footage is kind of cool, and you can get an idea of how large the tsunami (tidal wave) is as the boat goes over the top of the wave - remember, this is not a small boat.

There are a few different ways to tackle a tsunami when in a boat. The only way to survive is to do what the Japanese Coast Guard boat did... turn the bow into the wave to cut through it... to give the wave less to grab onto as it passes by. 

The film is thought to be the first such footage of the actual 10-metres high wave and a second smaller wave, and as it passed the Matsushima, the Coast Guard sent along warnings of the tsunami to the coastal areas of Japan.

The ship is lifted up tens of feet in the air and splashes down safely on the other side. A second smaller wave hits the ship minutes later.

COASTGUARD

Somewhere not having sea legs,
Andrew Joseph
Usually for the serious blogs I don't do the rock and roll theme blog titles... but I am for this one. The Lively Ones created this surf song back in 1961, I think: LISTEN. It was later used in the movie PULP FICTION.