Breaking waves
As Captain Aubrey tells his dear friend Dr Stephen Maturin in Patrick O’Brian’s classic novel Master and Commander, “forewarned is forearmed” – a rhythmic way to say that prior knowledge of possible dangers gives you a tactical advantage. In this series we are going to apply that concept to the extreme phenomena of our oceans and coasts, exploring what creates them so that you can spot the signs early and take appropriate action.
We will start with overfalls, defined in the as “short, breaking waves occurring when a current passes over a shoal or other
