Why is the Southern Sea so rough?

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By southern sea, I mean all the sea between Antarctica and Africa/S America/Australia. The pacific ocean is equally vast but yet it’s milder. I was looking at global winds on a website and almost the entire Southern Sea perpetually faces 60+ kmph winds. There are even 3000+ km long stretches of continuous 80 kmph winds. Why?

In: 1893

16 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Professional sailor here. In part it’s the ability for waves to circle the planet as swell (waves that have left the area they formed.). Waves and swells from the north also feed into the area. Everything true for the sea is true for the storms above. Without landmass to break up the wind it blows over longer distances creating a larger fetch (area where waves are generated). The Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn in particular are areas where storms converge. Messy and chaotic seas to say the least.

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