The results of the investigations conducted to study the distributions of wave heights and wave periods of successive waves are presented in this paper. Ocean wave data obtained off the Mangalore Harbour on the west coast of India are utilized for this purpose. The study indicates that the Rayleigh distribution for the wave heights is valid well beyond the narrow band assumption. The theoretical model for the above period distribution proposed by Longuet-Higgins does not provide a better fit for the observed data than the Rayleigh distribution does for the square of the wave period. Certain characteristics associated with the joint probability distribution proposed by Longuet-Higgins are not confirmed by the data analyzed.