It could be a rough ferry crossing, or just being near the coast in a storm.
I had one such experience yesterday, on the promenade her in Koktebel, and the sea in question - The Black Sea.
The weather had been changeable and windy for a couple of days, and I hadn't taken much notice of it, until late one night we were walking along the prom prom prom, with the band playing tiddly om pom pom (Ukrainian style), when we came upon a developed section where the beach had been taken over by concrete terraces for some hotel or other.
The waves were breaking over the lower levels, sending huge clouds of spray into the air, which were then carried by the wind further up towards us, resulting in a layer of water about an inch or so deep around our feet. Even more interesting was the fact that it was streaked with a carpet of moss like seaweed, in an ever changing pattern.
At first I was reluctant to get any closer, as I have first hand experience of the horrible aftermath of shoes that had been in sea water. I had to chuck out a pair of much loved trainers in Thailand after a drunken paddle one night. But it was just begging to be walked on, especially since I had already been briefed on the beneficial qualities of the Black Sea water and its seaweeds.
So off came the shoes and socks and off we went for a paddle, doing little jigs and getting the seaweed well and truly worked between the toes - lovely! Suddenly there was a huge crash and a deluge of spray and water (and more seaweed!) came crashing down around us. A rogue wave, and a big one at that, sent us scurrying back. I thought I was reasonably experienced at subconsciously assessing the danger of any given similar situation. Barely a year passes back home without a news story of some poor soul who is carried away by a rogue wave, and we are all probably marked for ever by the tragic images of the Tsunami in Asia five years ago.
So I was a bit miffed that I had got it wrong. This prompted me to have a good look out to sea and study the waves in more detail. What I witnessed was a seething cauldron of aquatic confusion. I instinctively looked for a wave pattern - something that it almost always present with any body of water - there wasn't one. The wind and waves were coming from all directions at once, colliding with each other as they were repulsed by the concrete.
It really was the most random and confused sea I had ever seen - and I've seen a few in my years of sailing.
Although the Black Sea is pretty big, it is dwarfed by the surrounding land mass. It's just a big lake really, the nearest real Ocean is thousands of miles away. Wave patterns just don't get chance to develop, and the weather and wind patterns are completely at odds with each other. The result is a sea of confusion, and when I did a bit of online research I discovered that it has an awesome reputation.
We were in no real danger, and it was huge fun, but it certainly left me with a renewed respect for nature, and a timely reminder anything can happen, anytime, and usually does.
There's very little out here in the way of coastguard and warning signs.......I shudder to think of the number of vodka fuelled casualties on this stretch of coast - known as the Russian Riviera. I have no way of finding the relevant statistics, and I don't want to know.
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