We are standing at the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
And behind us is a very big storm coming our way,
and it's gonna get here in just a few minutes.
And Rhoda and I want to see if this storm can cause waves
large enough to flip over a boat.
A boat such as the disciples would have been on 2,000 years ago
when Jesus calmed the storm.
- Are you excited? - I'm nervous.
I want to go.
I don't want to stick around for this.
But it's also cool at the same time.
Well, let's see what happens.
Yeah, let's see what happens.
(Sergio)
And we want to do that because of two reasons.
Number one:
This is about the famous miracle that is recorded in the Bible
where Jesus calms this giant storm.
A storm that is so big that the disciples were afraid they were going to drown.
Which leads us to reason number two.
The Sea of Galilee is not known to have big storms or high waves.
In fact, most people who live here, in their entire lifetime,
have never seen high waves.
And there is a good reason for that.
The Sea of Galilee is not a sea by any normal definition.
It is rather a very small lake
measuring only 13 miles long by 7 miles wide.
In comparison, it is 15,000 times smaller
than the Mediterranean Sea, which is a real sea, by the way.
So, given its small size, it is very unlikely to see high waves here
because high waves would require a rather extreme storm,
which fortunately is very rare in this area.
And that's because the Sea of Galilee is located 700 feet below the sea level.
Well, the "real" sea level.
This makes this area warmer and more protected from the storms.
And to make things even sweeter,
it sits at the northern edge of the Jordan Rift Valley,
a depression area that is known for its warm weather, lack of rain,
and lack of storms.
So, if you've been to Israel before,
chances are, this lake was as calm as a cat.
And that's because this is what it's like all year round.
Which brings us here today,
when my dad sent me a message saying a big storm is coming.
In fact, it's so big that they are closing down some districts
and schools in the area.
So Rhoda and I thought this could be a rare opportunity
to witness the legendary high waves and capture them on camera.
This is exciting.
I don't think I've ever chased a storm. Isn't that cool?
Have you ever chased a storm?
I don't see the reason in chasing a storm,
to be honest.
Look how fast the clouds cover the city of Nazareth.
This is crazy.
This is a big storm.
Due to the lower speed limits while we were driving in the city,
it looks like the storm has caught up to us
and is right on our tail.
However, most of the travel is gonna be on the highway,
and that should allow us to outrun the rain clouds
and get to the shore before the heavy downpour.
Everything was dead and yellow just a few weeks ago,
and now it's all green again.
It's beautiful.
The water gives life so fast here, it's astonishing.
So, when we drove in Florida,
we definitely had rain that is much stronger than this,
where you don't see, like, a foot in front of you.
- (Sergio)
this might be nothing.
- But in Israel, it is a big deal.... - Yeah.
because we don't have that many storms with those gushes and winds.
(Sergio)
This is just the tip of the storm.
The center of the storm is yet to come.
(Rhoda)
(Sergio)
Okay, so this is Capernaum.
Wow, I can't see the lake yet.
It looks like we were able to get ahead of the storm
and arrive at the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee,
but the visibility is deteriorating fast.
So we decided to park by the ancient city of Capernaum
and get down to the shore on foot.
All right. Let's park right here.
There we go.
We're the only people here.
(Rhoda)
Who in their right minds would come in a storm to the Lake of Galilee?
(Rhoda)
(Sergio)
(Rhoda)
Okay, we need to duck, duck, duck.
(Sergio)
I did not see that.
All right. This is exciting.
Uh... Oh, wow.
-
- (Sergio)
(Sergio)
That's gonna be a challenge because it looks like a pool of water,
and it's muddy, so you know, you just don't want to get stuck in there.
- Uh-uh. - So we'll see what we can do there.
Well, I'm just gonna check out if we can go through here.
(Rhoda)
- (Rhoda)
So there are some rocks here, but we can make it.
Yeah, we can make it. Let's go. All right, you see that rock there?
(Rhoda)
- (Sergio)
We just don't want to mistake rocks for something else.
- Right here. - (Rhoda)
- (Sergio)
Okay, be careful. It's very slippery.
- (Sergio)
(Sergio)
- (Rhoda)
Wait. What was here before? It was, like, vegetation and trees?
The water would come right up here, and it would go all the way out there.
It's like, half of this land is gone.
- Oh my gosh! - I wonder if some kind of storm before this
came and just took this big chunk of land out.
- (Rhoda)
Careful, careful.
Let's go.
Let's get out of here!
- Where? - Right through there.
(Rhoda)
(Sergio)
Oh, I feel it coming. Do you feel it coming?
(Rhoda)
- (Sergio)
I'm all wet.
♪ (music) ♪
(Sergio)
but that's only because the storm hasn't arrived here just yet.
So, is this your first time being in the rain in the Galilee Sea
when there are some slight waves out here?
I can't remember, but the times that are...
If I have been here, it would have been really, really few
because this is like a summer attraction.
You know, you come here in summer or in the nice weather,
but rarely, like, in this time.
But I was looking forward to more waves.
(Sergio)
but they can get way, way bigger.
-
(Sergio)
- (Rhoda)
-
Yeah, I see more clearly!
- (Sergio)
It's like that stillness before the storm. It's the quiet before the storm.
I think it's gonna quiet down and then it's gonna hit.
(Rhoda)
♪ (music) ♪
Do you feel the waves are being bigger?
Over there, the waves are-- I think the wind--
Like, you see more action from them on that side in particular.
Wow, is that the storm coming?
Babe, I think the storm is gonna be here in like two minutes.
Look, look. Look how fast that's going. You can see it move.
- Yeah. - And it's all over the--
Oh, look at the rain on the lake over there!
(Sergio)
- (Rhoda)
So it's like a funnel, a funnel of rain.
(Rhoda)
It's suddenly cold and crisper wind. Do you feel it?
- Yeah. Yeah. - Like, it was nice and--
Ah, it's cold.
(Sergio)
it is certainly not the first time that a storm hit the lake.
Just a year ago, a singer-songwriter, Filippo Rossi,
who is also known by his stage name Nothingless,
was able to capture this footage from a pier
located just a few hundred feet away from where Rhoda and I are standing today.
And while this might look severe,
we should first assess the height of the waves
by using a reference object, such as the railing.
Because we know that the approximate height of the rails is about four feet,
we can take this measurement, drag it to the lowest point of the wave,
and estimate that the height of the wave is about the same: four feet.
And so, while this water looks unusual for us,
it certainly does not look big enough to make professional fishermen
be scared for their lives.
But luckily, we were able to gain access to another footage.
The year... 1992.
When a famous Israeli director, Moshe Alpert,
captures one of the greatest storms ever recorded on tape
in the Sea of Galilee.
And if we use the same analysis method,
we can estimate that the height of the waves
to be as high as 10 feet.
On smaller boats, waves this high
can definitely be considered life-threatening,
even for experienced fishermen.
We can imagine this stormy, windy, rainy,
and Jesus put the disciples on a boat.
And here, the disciples are panicking, probably cold.
The waves 2 meters high, 15 feet high-- not 15-- 10 feet high waves.
And gushes, like, 30 miles an hour.
- Right? That's how it's gonna be? - Gushes, yes. Today, yeah.
And it probably was very scary.
You can't put your sail up because the gush is probably gonna--
- (Rhoda)
And you are stuck in the middle of this lake,
- and you're panicking, and there's Jesus. - Who just says, be still and quiet.
(Sergio)
Marvelous.
We came here today hoping to see the large waves in person,
but it seems like this storm is just not big enough for that.
Nonetheless, we're thankful.
Thankful for the people who were kind enough to provide us
with their videos from the previous years,
especially the rare storm of 1992.
This footage gives us a great visual perspective of the violent waves
that would have battered the boat of the disciples 2,000 years ago
when Jesus calmed the storm.
So, we hope to return one day to see such waves in person.
But, for now, we leave this place with interesting memories
and an important reminder.
No matter how big the storm may be,
whether it is on the Sea of Galilee or a tornado on its way for destruction,
or a personal struggle that is too heavy to carry,
remember... if we believe,
we may find that peace by calling on Jesus
who rebuked the storm and said to the sea:
"Quiet. be still."
So He got up and rebuked the wind
and said to the sea: "Quiet, Be Still!"
And the wind stopped and there was a great calm. - Mark 4:39
All right, guys. We hope you enjoyed this video.
It looks like the storm is going a bit east
and not north where we are.
But it's gonna get here. It's just gonna take time.
The waves are gonna get bigger,
but this is not the day to see giant waves, unfortunately.
However, it was still an exciting time to see the Sea of Galilee in a different light.
A different side of the Sea of Galilee, right?
-
90% of the time it's, like, still and sunny out.
(Sergio)
And Jesus would have been here at this time too.
This is just another side of this place, and it's kind of marvelous to see it too.
So, we hope you enjoyed it, and we hope to see you next time.
Until then, God bless you.
- And the best is yet to come. - Amen.
- Bye-bye. - Let's go.
- Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. - Let's go get warm.
(Sergio)
-
- It's a hot spring. - It is a hot spring.
I had no idea!
-
I'm gonna go touch it.
♪ (music) ♪
It's hot!
It's warm!
I can shower in this!
It is hot!
Babe, it's hot!
(Rhoda)
(Sergio)
This spring is hot.
We could literally sit in there right now.
-
This is so cool. I want to go swim in this.
(Rhoda)
We've got to come back when it's cold and sit in it...
because it is hot!
Well, I mean, it's warm.
Like, right now, outside it's about, what, 10 degrees Celsius,
which is 40s, 50s? 40s?
- Yeah. - It's really cold and it's raining,
and that spring is hot.
(Rhoda)
(Sergio)
Come back here in a very cold time, when it's like freezing point,
and go swimming in this waterfall.
Just sit here. Bring a chair and just sit in it
when everything is frozen.
I could totally see you do that.
I'll be the film girl.
Deal.