0914.

Hokku. Basho. 1689. (alternative translation)

the rough sea—
flowing toward Sado Isle
the River of Heaven

0412.

Hokku. Basho. 1689.

araumi ya / Sado ni yokotau / amanogawa

the rough sea / stretching out towards Sado / the Milky Way 

0207.

Toast.

Day	Toast
Sunday	"Absent Friends"
Monday	"Our Ships at Sea"
Tuesday	"Our Men"
Wednesday	"Ourselves" (as no one else is likely to be concerned for us!)
Thursday	"A Bloody War or a Sickly Season" (and a quick promotion!)
Friday	"A Willing Foe and Sea-Room"
Saturday	"Wives and Sweethearts" (may they never meet)

0207. (T)

Song To The Siren. Tim Buckley.

Long afloat on shipless oceans
I did all my best to smile
'Til your singing eyes and fingers
Drew me loving to your isle
And you sang
Sail to me
Sail to me
Let me enfold you
Here I am
Here I am
Waiting to hold you

Did I dream you dreamed about me?
Were you here when I was forecastle?
Now my foolish boat is leaning
Broken lovelorn on your rocks,
For you sing, "Touch me not, touch me not, come back tomorrow:
O my heart, O my heart shies from the sorrow"

I am puzzled as the newborn child
I am riddled as the tide.
Should I stand amid the breakers?
Should I lie with Death my bride?
Hear me sing, "Swim to me, Swim to me, Let me enfold you:
Here I am, Here I am, Waiting to hold you"

0611.

Deep Sea.

The  deep sea or deep layer is the lowest layer in the ocean, existing below the thermocline and above the seabed, at a depth of 1000 fathoms (1800 m) or more. Little or no light penetrates this part of the ocean and most of the organisms that live there rely for subsistence on falling organic matter produced in the photic zone. For this reason scientists once assumed that life would be sparse in the deep ocean but virtually every probe has revealed that, on the contrary, life is abundant in the deep ocean.

Anapala.

Freight.

The scarlet balloon waved from the sedge grass that grows in the margin between land and sea. The balloon was no longer firm and fully inflated and was weighed down by its tail of message tags and string. The messages were of bereavement, "I will miss you mate" said one, another "you will live on through your children". Sad notes from a far away funeral.

I cut the pale string with a sharp sea shell and released the balloon to the wind. It rose quickly and was soon absorbed into the blue, pacific sky.

0412.

Wednesday 22 April 2015.

High	12:15AM	3.4m
Low	6:32AM	0.4m
High	12:34PM	3.3m
Low	6:51PM	0.4m

First Light	6:25AM
Sunrise	6:52AM
Sunset	5:48PM
Last Light	6:15PM

0607.

Beaufort Wind Scale

Beaufort wind force scale

The Beaufort scale, which is used in Met Office marine forecasts, is an empirical measure for describing wind intensity based on observed sea conditions.

Specifications and equivalent speeds

Beaufort wind scale	Mean Wind Speed		Limits of wind speed		Wind descriptive terms	Probable wave height in metres*	Probable maximum wave height in metres*	Seastate	Sea descriptive terms
	Knots	ms-1	Knots	ms-1
0	0	0	<1	<1	Calm	-	-	0	Calm (glassy)
1	2	1	1-3	1-2	Light air	0.1	0.1	1	Calm (rippled)
2	5	3	4-6	2-3	Light breeze	0.2	0.3	2	Smooth (wavelets)
3	9	5	7-10	4-5	Gentle breeze	0.6	1.0	3	Slight
4	13	7	11-16	6-8	Moderate breeze	1.0	1.5	3-4	Slight - Moderate
5	19	10	17-21	9-11	Fresh breeze	2.0	2.5	4	Moderate
6	24	12	22-27	11-14	Strong breeze	3.0	4.0	5	Rough
7	30	15	28-33	14-17	Near gale	4.0	5.5	5-6	Rough-Very rough
8	37	19	34-40	17-21	Gale	5.5	7.5	6-7	Very rough - High
9	44	23	41-47	21-24	Strong gale*	7.0	10.0	7	High
10	52	27	48-55	25-28	Storm	9.0	12.5	8	Very High
11	60	31	56-63	29-32	Violent storm	11.5	16.0	8	Very High
12	-		64+	33+	Hurricane	14+	-	9	Phenomenal

*

1. These values refer to well-developed wind waves of the open sea.
2. The lag effect between the wind getting up and the sea increasing should be borne in mind.

   

 
 

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Did I Dream You Dreamed About Me.

Crossing The Bar. Alfred. Lord Tennyson.

Sunset and evening star,

      And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

      When I put out to sea,

   But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

      Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

      Turns again home.

   Twilight and evening bell,

      And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

      When I embark;

   For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place

      The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

      When I have crost the bar.

Nightfall.

Takitimu.

Float lightly, float lightly, my sailing-canoe,
Like a bird of the air, with thy soft-flapping wings—
We'll anchor ere long on far-distant shores;
Thy spouse is Ariki-tapu, the Sea.
Soon shall we drink of Whakatau's waters.
Avaunt all ye dangers, death rocks in the ocean;
Ye clouds of dread gloom, may our prayer-charms dispel ye!
O Tane, Tree-Lord, let us peacefully glide!

—Ancient Chant for the Canoe Takitimu when leaving Hawaiki for New Zealand.

0613.

Don't Take This The Wrong Way.

The man walking the other way ignored us completely, actually looking away
as he passed us.

I was going to share the obvious beauty of our surroundings with him but by his rejection
felt defeated.

Anyway we continued along the shoreline, passing the wreckage of a drowned dingy,
until we met the tide at the far corner of the bay.

When we turned for home the low sunlight that had cast the beach in such delightful
relief, blinded us with its intensity.

Little wonder that the man had ignored us.

Against the Far Shore.

Missing Ingredients.

Turning inland away from the perfect blue, to the
green ginger of the totara trees, pine and other
settler needs.
Ghost plans for a failed estate become barbecue resort,
now closed for the season.

Turning again to the natural order of fish and bird.

For a limping walk with a reluctant dog to find a shy
fern bird by ear in the wetland, hidden deep in reeds.
One true call and a few fluttering stems, a sign
of proof for the believer.

Chinese tour guide in purple Lycra, lost and out of season,

Is this the Jubilee?

Yes and you will end up back where you started from.

There are no bad spirits here this morning,
sun up and water flat calm.
Walkers alone and dogged.
The fishing fleet finished for the night navigating the deep channel,
and a small breeze making the flax clap.