© The Telegraph, UKThe Marco Polo cruise ship.
The wave battered the British ship Marco Polo, operated by Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) as it headed through stormy seas for its home port of Tilbury in Essex at the end of a 42-night voyage.
Water crashed through a window injuring a number of the 735 passengers, who were mainly British. An 85-year-old male passenger and a woman passenger in her 70s were airlifted off the ship. The male passenger later died, the company said.
A number of other passengers received minor injuries and were treated by medical staff on board. The vessel, which has been to the Amazon in South America and to the West Indies, is due to dock at Tilbury in the early hours of Sunday.
The company said: "CMV regrets to advise that earlier today (FRI) their cruise ship m/s Marco Polo, en-route to her home port of Tilbury from the Azores, was hit by a freak wave during adverse sea conditions in the south western approaches of the English Channel.
"One elderly passenger has died and a further passenger has been airlifted for further shore-side medical assistance. The vessel sailed from Tilbury on January 5 and is carrying 735 mainly British passengers and 349 crew.
"Our thoughts are very much with these passengers and their families during this difficult time."
"The Earth wobble takes the form of a Figure 8, when seen from above the N Pole. For Europe, as we described in 2007, this forces Europe to tilt toward the northwest when the Sun is over Europe, to be followed by a swing of N America to the northeast as the Sun moves overhead there. This combined action acts like a pump, creating a void or vacuum of low air pressure in the N Atlantic. Warm humid air is pulled up into the N Atlantic. Cold air rushes down to fill the void, and swirling begins due to the Coriolis effect.
"Will this mean continuous hurricane activity along the European coast? This will be the minor effect, as with an increased wobble the storm surge will likewise increase, sending unprecedented high tides into the lowlands of Europe."
ZetaTalk Chat Q&A: December 17, 2011
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