One-Page Schoolhouse: ocean

Showing posts with label ocean. Show all posts

Thalassophiles and Oceans

What is a thalassophile? A person who loves and is magnetically attracted to the ocean and the sea. Many people say they enjoy spending time at the beach, especially during summertime, this is more like being one who needs to be near the ocean all the time. Some pro surfers may qualify as a thalassophile.

This addiction can be so intense that a person doesn't just appreciate being close to the shoreline but needs to live in coastal areas like they need air - perhaps sea air - to breathe.

The word "thalassophile" derives from the Greek terms thalassa, meaning sea, and phile or philos, a person or thing having a fondness for a specified thing. In Greek mythology, Thalassa was the primeval goddess and spirit of the sea.

It may sound a bit unhealthy to have this addiction or attraction. Just looking at the ocean activates opiate receptors in the brain, releasing dopamine and its rush of reward.

Do you sometimes feel the need to get to the sea? That's where Herman Melville places Ishmael at the start of Moby Dick.

“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off--then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship.” ― Herman Melville, Moby Dick

The Middle of Nowhere

You've heard people say that a place was in “the middle of nowhere,” but that place is in the middle of somewhere. One place I would nominate for actually being in the middle of nowhere is Point Nemo.

Scientists made the calculations to find a place in the ocean that was the furthest away in every direction from land - and people.

This remote oceanic location is located at coordinates 48°52.6′S 123°23.6′W, about 2,688 kilometers from the nearest land—Ducie Island, part of the Pitcairn Islands, to the north; Motu Nui, one of the Easter Islands, to the northeast; and Maher Island, part of Antarctica, to the south.

You cant see it. You can't land there. No one lives there.

So why give it a name?

It is the place selected for space junk which has been ditched there starting around 1971. If you want a place to crash landing space junk like expired satellites, you want the place furthest away from land and people.

The name Nemo is Latin for "no one: and also a nod to Captain Nemo from Jules Verne's novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

This point is also called the South Pacific Ocean Uninhabited Area and it is one of several "oceanic poles of inaccessibility.” It is 2,688km away in every direction from land. I wouldn't want to be stranded there.

I tried to find it on Google Maps and Google Earth. Not there. It's nowhere.

For an expanded and more personal take on being in the middle of nowhere, check out this post at Weekends in Paradelle.

Surf's Up (Somewhere)

Ron Jon, NJ - 1961

If everybody had an ocean
Across the U.S.A.
Then everybody'd be surfin'
Like Californ-I-A
You'd see 'em wearin' their baggies
Huarachi sandals, too
A bushy bushy blonde hairdo
Surfin' U.S.A.

Just a few warm days so far here in Paradelle, but I came across a box of old surfing magazines in my garage and so my thoughts went to waves.

In my youth, one of my summer hangouts was the Ron Jon Surf Shop on Long Beach Island in New Jersey. The shop was only a few years old then. The Beach Boys were big and everyone was into surfing even if they weren't actually surfing.

LBI conditions aren't very good right now - flat and water at 43 degrees. It's about the same at Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, but check out the conditions elsewhere - the surf is always up somewhere...