For more carrier videos see our Carrier Cat Shots and Traps pages.
I think the following quote from the video sums up the difficulty — and danger — of landing on a carrier deck when it is rising, falling and pitching in rough seas:
“First the deck looks like this, then it looks like that … add to it the visual perception that is changing … you can’t decide if it’s your mind or the boat.”
Click here for Carrier Traps at Night onto a Pitching Deck
“Don’t shoot me ‘till the bow comes up.” The flight deck on a Midway or Essex is about 50 feet above the water line. When the bow scoops up water so deep that when it rolls down the flight deck and is still 20 feet deep when it passes the island, you can say you have sailed in some rough waters. Been there done that.
— Gene
At the bottom of this page you can see a cat team preparing to launch an F-3H Demon with water from heavy seas washing over the deck.