Boat obliterated by 2 rogue waves

The Captain Smoke of North Myrtle Beach didn't just sink on Sunday 45 miles east of Charleston. Two rogue waves smashed it to bits, leaving only debris on the ocean surface and three fishermen in a life raft, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

"From everything that I've heard, the waves just absolutely obliterated it," Petty Officer Michael Hulme said Wednesday.

The identity of the three fishermen and estimated height of the two waves were not available, Hulme said.

A rogue wave is large, unexpected and dangerous. The National Ocean Service has documented a rogue wave estimated at 60 feet tall in the Gulf Stream off Charleston.

Rogues waves are greater than twice the size of surrounding waves, are unpredictable and often come unexpectedly from directions other than prevailing wind and waves.

Most reports say they look like "walls of water."

They are often steep-sided with unusually deep troughs, according to the Ocean Service.

One of the fishermen was treated and released at the Medical University of South Carolina.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew launched from its base on Johns Island in response to an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon activated on the Captain Smoke at 9:17 p.m.

The fishermen fired flares from their raft when they saw the helicopter at about 10:14 p.m.

Reach Prentiss Findlay at 937-5711 or pfindlay@postandcourier.com.