The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-02-18

boatman either refuses 70 put off from
shore, or at most to go far from land,
on q day when ,Iere Is no sign OF an
approaching storm. and the water is only
moved by a long and gently rolling swell,
Argument is of no avail and II the old
salt is pushed for reason he will only
reply with some crypotogramic remark
about "the ground sea-" the questioner
retiring more bewildered than before.
II is hard TO understand how such
gentle swell can presage danger, but 10
experienced eyes it gives a warning that
must be needed. All along the west and
parts of the south coasts Of England and
Ireland, as well as the west coast of
Scotland. uncounted tales are told OF
ships which on a perfectly calm day have
been within few hours first caught py
a gentle roll OF water and finally thrown
on a rock-bound shore by the dreaded
ground sea"
To understand this curious marine phe-
nomenon IL must be borne in mind that
out on the Atlantic waves are often
formed to a height of forty feet. Driven
before heavy gale, these advance at
rate of from thirty TO forty miles an
hour. Travelling at such a rate they soon
get out of the wlnd-swept area but even
though. for them, the storm is past. they
stil roll in fury, their fluctuations often
being felt 800 miles from the point of their
creaAon.
waves are fierce. baking pillows. but
as they get furths, away, they settle
down into long rcsing ridges. which
travel onward in long, unbroken lines,
perfectly parallel with each other. Out
on the open sea these ridges often stretch
out for a distance OF over thirty miles,
and as they travel in threes. each sue
cessive wave being larger than IT'S prede-
cessor, the sight is an imposing one. The
further they progress the smaller they be
come in height but this is compensated
for by the fact that their motion Is COM
municated to the mass Of water below I'M
I'll the roll can be detected fully fifty feet
under the surface. This gives them the
name of ground sea-"
In this peculiarity their danger lies. for
when becamed ship Is caught In them
her draft. the resisting power that en-
ables her to ride out a storm, becomes
the fulcrum which the liquid mass uses
to hurl her onward to destruction. On a
csirn day any sailing craft caught In the
ground sea" near a rocky shore Is as
good as lost unless a wind can spring
up and enable her 20 beat out TO sea
Many a ship has met this fate. The rea-
son many more do not get lost Is due TO
the gentle swell that so deceives lands
man and warns the sailor.
As the ground sea" advances II pushes
a certain amount OF water before IT.
This also forms into ridges. like It's pur-
suer but of less height and approximately
no depth The false sea- as II Is called
Is little more than rolling swell, but 1t
gives warning of from twenty minutes
to two hours duration. enabling ship
either to run into port, get out to sea, or
securely anchor: while at the seaside re-
sorts the boatmen run close in shore, to
the surprise of the "trippers.'
When II is remembered that wave
thirty feet high, which il often attained
by the ground sea-" strikes with force
of one ton to the square inch. the neces-
sity for caution will be recognized.
All waves that come in parallel ridges.
however, are not dangerous, as there Ia
a wind billow'' that Is closely allied to
the ground sea- in appearance. Wind
hillows' are due to a heavy wind blow
ing but few miles off the land. but as
they have but a comparatively short dis
lance TO travel they have no depth. Con-
seduently even rowing boat is perfectly
safe on them II properly handled.-Pear-
sons Weekly.