The American, who died after the Viking Polaris cruise ship was hit by a “rogue wave,” was pictured as family members prepare for a memorial service in Texas this weekend.
Sheri Xiaonong Zhu, 62, was killed and four other passengers injured when a rogue wave struck the Viking Polaris cruise ship on November 29, 2022 as it was sailing towards the port of Ushuaia in southern Argentina on an Antarctic cruise, authorities said.
Zhu was traveling with her husband, David Yunying Kuoon, and was one of the 378 passengers on board the luxury liner when the catastrophic wave hit the cabin. According to the Argentine naval prefecture, she was hit by shards of glass.
Family members will hold a private memorial service Saturday in Katy, Texas to remember Zhu, who was described in her obituary as a devoted wife, sister, daughter, aunt and friend, talented jewelry designer and world traveler.
Sheri Xiaonong Zhu died unexpectedly when a “rogue wave” struck the cruise ship Viking Polaris while vacationing in Antarctica
Zhu, pictured here with her husband David Yunying Kuoon, on one of their many adventures. The couple met while they were both studying for their MBA marriage in 1988 and enjoyed traveling the world together. Some of her trips have included Machu Picchu, the Silk Road Train Tour, as well as Iceland
Zhu and her husband David were on their Antarctic vacation when the rogue wave hit their cabin windows. Many passengers on board the ship thought they had hit an iceberg when the “rogue wave” hit. Some described the incident as the ship “smashing into a wall”.
Zhu’s husband survived the freak accident, but his 34-year-old wife died during what was said to be a one-time trip.
The trip was one of many exotic excursions the adventurous couple have taken over the years, and this trip to Antarctica was one the couple had been looking forward to.
According to an obituary, the family said the couple “fell in love with traveling around the world, visiting the most spectacular destinations including the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru – one of the most famous ancient Inca sites in Peru; the Silk Road Train Tour, a train traveling through Asia, Africa and Europe and to see the Northern Lights in Iceland.
On November 23, 2022, the couple left their Houston home for Ushuaia, Argentina for their final trip. The cruise ship Viking Polaris was to take them on an exploration of Antarctica.
Zhu, who was born in Beijing, China, the youngest of three sisters, has parents who worked as journalists. After graduating from the Beijing Foreign Language Institute, she worked as an English teacher at the university.
She moved to Houston, Texas to pursue another degree. Zhu met her husband while they were both pursuing their MBAs.
The couple married on January 5, 1988. Thursday would have been their 35th wedding anniversary.
An image of the shattered cabin windows struck by the massive monster wave that struck the cruise ship Viking Polaris on November 29, 2022 as it sailed towards the port of Ushuaia in southern Argentina on an Antarctic cruise
The 378-guest cruise ship had only been underway for two months when it set sail to explore Antarctica. The ship was handed over by the VARD shipyard to the owner Viking Cruises in September
The Viking Polaris cruise ship was sailing towards Ushuaia, Argentina – the main departure point for expeditions to Antarctica – before the tragedy struck
Zhu and her husband founded the successful jewelry wholesale business Instyle Trading Inc., based in Houston, which sells necklaces, bracelets and earrings.
She did not attend formal art school, but friends and family describe her jewelry designs using pearls and semi-precious stones as “beautiful, bold and innovative”.
Prior to her business venture, Zhu had worked for a decade as a loan officer in banking and for China Art, an import and export company based in Hong Kong.
Friends and family members paid tribute and shared their memories and condolences on Zhu’s obituary page, which is filled with heartfelt messages and photos.
The photos capture Zhu and her beloved partner on their travels – standing under a beautiful rainbow, holding a piece of an iceberg, horseback riding in Iceland. Also photos of children with her sisters, family photos with her nieces and nephews, photos of her with her dog Messi and a photo of the couple at their first wedding.
Sheri Zhu and her husband David smile as they take photos during one of their spectacular adventures together
Sheri Zhu smiles as she holds a piece of iceberg in her hand
Sheri Zhu and her husband David on horseback during their trip to Iceland
Zhu imagined herself working on her jewelry designs, which she created using pearls and semi-precious stones. Family and friends called her creations “beautiful, bold and innovative”.
The couple together in their early years. Zhu earned an MBA before working in banking
Hours before the tragedy, other passengers were on a sea excursion aboard the Zodiac — an inflatable lifeboat (IRB) — en route to a landmass in Antarctica when two more incidents occurred. One person had fallen overboard from the IRB but was rescued while another passenger was seriously injured.
The woman’s leg was crushed and had to be taken to a hospital for surgery. The ship’s medical team was unable to care for her adequately, and at that point the passengers were notified that the ship had to return to Ushuaia, Argentina, where the cruise originally set sail to transport the passenger to bring hospital.
All other activities were canceled that day. During this time the weather got worse and worse.
Deborah Terry, 69, and her wife Tamarah Castaneda, 61, were in their cabin on the ship’s third floor – number 3023 – preparing to retire for the night when the massive wave hit the boat at around 10.40pm.
“It was a terrible jolt, as if the ship had hit a wall. We’ve had no experience of a rogue wave before,” said Terry, an avid traveler who told that Antarctica was the seventh continent she’s also traveled.
The couple say the day after the “rogue wave” hit, the captain went to the loudspeaker to deliver the news that a fellow passenger had died. Captain Margrith Ettlin – the first female captain of a Viking cruise ship – made the shocking announcement.
“Her voice was hesitant… choking,” Terry recalled. She said: “Unfortunately, we lost a passenger in the incident. We’ll shorten the trip. Let’s have a moment of silence.’
Terry said the feeling was overwhelming. “I’ve been on cruises to Alaska, the Greek Islands, the coast of Italy and I’ve never been on a cruise where a passenger died.”
Castaneda said she assumed the woman who died was the woman injured on the Zodiac, but later realized it was due to the “rogue wave.”
Launched in 2022, Viking Polaris is the newest ship in the company’s fleet.
The young cruise ship, designed for 378 guests, is only two months old and was handed over by the VARD shipyard to the owner Viking Cruises in September.
From Amsterdam it went to Argentina, where it has since been used for Antarctic cruises to and from Ushuaia.
Scientists often refer to rogue waves as extreme storm waves that appear out of nowhere, often in an unpredictable direction, and can appear as a sheer wall of water up to twice the size of the surrounding waves.
These rare killer waves were once considered a myth, reported by sailors or explorers. Polar explorer Ernest Shackleton wrote in his book of a “gigantic” unusual wave he encountered in Antarctica in 1916.
However, scientists have learned more about them in recent decades, studying how they form and how to predict the wall of water that can rise even in calm seas.
The incident came two weeks after two tourists drowned on another Antarctic cruise. The two men, aged 76 and 80, had left the World Explorer ship for a trip on a Zodiac dinghy that had overturned near shore.