Rogue waves (also known as freak waves), which can reach more than twice the average wave height, do exist and occur many times per day. Occasionally reaching the height of a 10-story building, they can pose a threat to even the biggest ships. In just the last two decades, severe weather has been blamed for the loss of over 200 ships over 600 feet long, and rouge waves were the main suspect in many of the cases. 1)
In 1837, Dumont d'Urville, a French explorer, reported that he observed waves reaching a height of 80-100 feet, but his estimation was met with skepticism by other scientists of the time, such as François Arago, who believed that the estimations were exaggerated and that the imagination played a part in the estimation of wave heights. Arago called for a more scientific approach to estimating wave heights and later, in his 1841 report, he referred to the “truly prodigious waves” as a product of navigators' lively imagination. 2)