When Bass straight really "gets up" the waves resemble a monstorous "washing machine" with huge swells from one direction and waves breaking on top of the swells travelling in a different direction, and when I say "huge" it is a conservative generalisation. There are "rogue waves" that can appear from almost any quarter regardless of the direction of the swell and the wind, and gusts of 90 to 100 knots are a regular occurance when small (in area), intense lows converge from different directions as they funnel through Bass straight, meeting lows coming around Tasmania from the Tasman or up from the Southern oceans, all combined with an approx' two to three knot, warm current travelling south down the east coast meeting the cold waters of the southern ocean It can be an absolute "hell" to try sailing in. The Southern ocean on the other hand gets very "big" very "rough" and very dangerous, particularely the further south you sail across it, but it is completely "open" ocean with the winds travelling around the world without coming into contact with any land mass (for most of its spread) and as such it is a very different type of "sea" to sail in, with much more predictability when compared with the waters in Bass straight.