Out on the Sea

While the Sea is as mysterious as it is as vast, as terrifying as it is humbling, it is truly one of the most wondrous places on Earth to find yourself. You never know what will happen when you’re out in the open sea. Each time you’re out there, you can encounter a variety of experiences to change how you perceive the sea from its walloping waves to clear skies to powerful sunlight to treacherous downpours. From stormy to sunny, the weather when you’re out on the sea can range from peaceful to disastrous. The Sea has an allure to it like the mountains and the desert because of its vastness, its complexities, and its remarkable inhabitants.

I find the Sea to be appealing because it demands you respect it for all it can bring in return if you’re able to overcome the difficulties of setting sail. You can traverse the Sea to reach new destinations, to find food to catch and sustain yourself, or to even create a source of energy from the wind and sun that envelop it at times. We cannot even begin to fathom how vast the sea below us is but as we want to stay above it lest we sink to the bottom on whatever vessel we find ourselves on. As a result, the Sea is not to be disrespected, tampered with, or polluted. What it can give us in its bounty, it can easily take away from us if we are not careful. We should not take more than what we need or pretend that the Sea is not able to take what it needs from us in return.

If you do not take the necessary precautions, use proper navigation tools, or realize when you may head into a storm or squall stronger than your boat, you may end up a victim of the Sea as a result. The Sea is not meant to be terrifying, but if you don’t realize its scope, scale, power, and depths, you may not have a good experience being out there. You should not take chances on the sea that you can’t live with and it’s best to imagine as many scenarios as possible that can occur when you’re out there on your boat, ship, or canoe. Any time out on the Sea, you can expect to find something you never thought you’d ever see before and for which it will continue to surprise each time you’re out on the water.

Because each time at Sea is unique, you need to prepare for what kind of creatures you’ll encounter below from octopus to squid to fish to crabs to sharks to whales, etc. There is a whole ecosystem that you may be able to encounter depending on if you’re a fisherman, a scuba diver, a snorkeler, or a deep-sea explorer. Be careful in remembering that while you may think you’re top of the food chain at Sea, as a human being, you’re not the fastest swimmer or stronger mammal in the deep blue waters, so you should be careful when trying to catch something that may want to catch you first in response.

While the Sea has had a lasting appeal on man economically, socially, and for its plentiful environmental goods, we should remember that it is not our natural environment, and we are the mercy of Mother Nature out there. Make sure you know what you may be getting into when you get on your vessel headed out to Sea because you never know what you may find out there. Maps, compasses, a good crew who knows the waters will all help but you also need to show leadership, resolve, a hard work ethic, and be able to make life or death decisions if you are the captain of the boat or ship you’re traversing the Sea with.

It is not just the waters below that can bring down a boat or a vessel but rather the waves, the squalls, the storm surge, or the lightning that can make your small piece of home sink quicker than you can imagine. Even the biggest boat over a century ago, the Titanic, was thought by most observers to be ‘unsinkable’ at the time, but it was based on faulty hubris, human error, and a lack of respect for what the Sea can throw at you.

You may think your boat, your ship, or your vessel will always stay afloat but in my view, the Sea can take what it wants, when it wants, and you must know to avoid its wrath if you are not careful. We may claim dominion over the land of the Earth, but the Sea is still the Wild West despite us using it for commerce, trade, and for food. You can never fully control the Sea because it is a treacherous, ever-changing environment, for which demands planning, respect, and oftentimes good luck.

While others may shy away from it, I have always found the Sea to be a beautiful part of our Earth where you can be at peace and at ease yet still respect it enough to keep your head about yourself as you make your way through its horizons. It can lull you into complacency one day with calm waters and then snap you back into reality the next day with an unbelievable storm. The Sea yields tremendous beauty but also tremendous terror. You should use the unpredictability of it by being a better Seaman and preparing as much as you can for how to be a good Captain, a good Crew member, or just a good Passenger to make it back home safely after your time at sea is over. If you respect the Sea, you will have a much better time whichever way you choose to enjoy its bountiful fruits and its sheer wonders.