Swells

Swells are wind waves that have a very long wave length. They are often made by storms in the tropics, and then travel for hundreds or thousands of miles across the ocean. They are often, but not always, larger than the waves around them. If you’ve ever been on a large boat or a ship and that long, slow pitching, it was swells. Surfers often track them to catch the best waves.

Waves basically travel until they hit land. At 60 degrees south latitude, there is no land. The ocean stretches around the entire planet. Not surprisingly, this is where some of the largest swell waves are found. These seas are very tough and take experienced sailors to make it through them. A line from a sailing song goes "And as we wallop around Cape Horn you'll wish to God you'd never been born" (Cape Horn is the southernmost tip of South America).

The video below, taken in Wellington, New Zealand, is an excellent example. If you don’t like Rammstein (loud German industrial music) you may want to turn your speakers down.