Fact or Fiction?

A 'freak wave' has been recreated for the first time!  The Oxford and Edinburgh University research workers also noted a similarity to the famous Japanese woodblock print 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa' by artist Katsushika Hokusai (c1829).  

The laboratory-induced wave was formed by varying two smaller wave groups until their crossing angle reached 120 degrees.   These freak or rogue waves, officially known as 'Draupner' waves, appear without warning and may cause the catastrophic sinking of large ships (not to mention small sailing boats!)

Compare the researcher's video shot with Hokusai's woodblock print:

The Draupner (or 'New Year') wave measured 25m and was the first rogue wave ever detected by a measuring instrument.   It crashed into the Draupner Oil Rig platform off the Norwegian Coast on 1 January 1995, fortunately without injury to personnel or damage to the rig.  No longer can such waves be considered a mythological figment of the sailor's imagination!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QWWe9PMuVng