Monster Wave

Image by Foster and Sons

This monster wave off Oahu gives us an idea of what Shackleton saw from the 22' James Caird at midnight on May 5, 1916.

Shackleton wrote in South, "I called to the other men that the sky was clearing, and then a moment later I realized that what I had seen was not a rift in the clouds but the white crest of an enormous wave. During twenty-six years' experience of the ocean in all its moods I had not encountered a wave so gigantic. It was a mighty upheaval of the ocean, a thing quite apart from the big white-capped seas that had been our tireless enemies for many days. I shouted, "For God's sake, hold on! It's got us!"

Many thanks to Foster and sons, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons for the wonderful image.