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July - August 2018
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Disponible en línea en español.
PICTURE THIS: You own a beautiful piece
of sandy beach, right on the Hudson River that
has been in your family for generations. It has
become a tradition to take your family to this
beach for picnics, fishing, and just plain fun.
Well this story is all about that piece of property
and a terrible tragedy that possibly could have
occurred there.
The situation that
I am describing here is not that unusual, (I have heard and
seen written accounts of it happening over the years) as I have also experienced
it but certainly not to the extent that these folks did.
What is unusual is that the victims of this particular incident are very articulate
in their description, have followed through in great detail, and are pointing out and
incident that is extremely dangerous when it occurs.
As you can see by the photo Dick Duncan holding the striper, the surface of the
water behind the man, is flat, no wind disturbing the surface.
In my experience these types of waves occur when a ship passes between two
points that are fairly close to each other with a narrow deep channel between
them. In the upper Hudson River this type of channel stretches for miles before
you reach the Port of Albany.
Here is what happens: The ship having a deep draft, (the depth of the ship is
down roughly 28 feet in a 30 foot channel) pushes the water out of its way as it
by
John H. Vargo, Publisher
moves forward and after it passes the water reacts by filling the void, and then,
rolling back up onto the shallow shore.
Thus you go from a flat, calm surface, to a high volume of water hitting the
shore line without any warning whatsever. The speed of the returning wave is
directly related to how fast the water is replaced, based on the forward motion of
the boat that created it.
Here are three eyewitness accounts of this occurring on May 2 of this year.
From Sarah Elia
On May 2, 2018, I went to Coxsackie, New York to go fishing with my
family on the Hudson River just south of the village. It’s a quiet and
tranquil place. We brought a lot of supplies with us to enjoy the afternoon
on the beach. We set up a grill, hung a hammock and set up our folding
chairs. We brought lots of fishing supplies and a lot of food. I rested on
the beach while I watched Anna, my 3-year-old daughter, play along the
shore and search for sea glass. It felt like the ideal spot to bring her to
play. It is a quiet, private area where the water is calm, except for the
occasional small wake when a boat goes by. So what happened toward the
end of our day was really shocking. We were standing at the water’s edge,
On t h e Hu d s o n
TSUNAMI-LIKE
WAKE