Sad thing is, I've been made sick by two foot swells when I went out in a small boat.... Nearly spewed all over one of my classmates. I am a lightweight.
On a more serious note, this reminds me of quite a few tragedies that took place near the places I've lived... in 1983 the "Marine Electric" went down in huge waves not far from my parents' house -31 dead and just three survivors. And where I live now, a fishing boat broke up in a storm recently with all three men lost....captain was a meth addict, and took her out in bad weather against advice. It can be awful out there, and combine the weather with bad maintenance or substance abuse? Often deadly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Marine_Electric