NOTE ON BREATHER TYPE SOLUTIONS OF THE NLS AS MODELS FOR FREAK-WAVES

Some breather type solutions of the NLS equation have been suggested by Henderson et al (to appear in Wave Motion) as models for a class of 'freak' wave events seen in 2D-simulations on surface gravity waves. In this paper we first take a closer look on these simple solutions and compare them with some of the simulation data (Henderson et al to appear in Wave Motion). Our findings tend to strengthen the idea of Henderson et al. Especially the Ma breather and the so called Peregrine solution may provide useful and simple analytical models for 'freak' wave events.