THROUGH SPACE AND TIME
A wave is a change of a physical quantity spreading through space while transporting energy, and yet, not transporting matter. Sources for waves can be pulsing stimulations, vibrations or periodic oscillations. The mechanism that describes the wave creation by wind, called Kelvin-Helmholtz-Instability, names three main factors for the formation of ocean waves: the wind fetch, the wind strength, and the wind time.
During the southern hemisphere winter months, deep in the Indian Ocean towards the Roaring Forties, all three factors are met regularly. Massive storms massage large parts of the ocean for days on end. The freed energy is transported by waves for over 3000 nautical miles towards the equator and arrives days later on foreign coastlines. We are standing on the shore somewhere in Java, Indonesia and watch the ocean rise and fall as if it was slowly breathing. Out on the open sea the swell is not too big, maybe two metres. However, the period between the passing of each wave is more than 20 seconds long. During the long journey through the Indian Ocean the waves have lost size, however, they have become faster and cleaner. They also didn´t lose much of their original energy, as we can see, once the waves grow higher and higher hitting the reef. The local wind is light enough to keep the wave faces free of wind chop, yet, strong enough so we can catch them with the help of our sails and attach ourselves to the pacing bundles of energy.
