Float

“ Wave motion is most felt where the float is in shallow water. A pier or quay wall will probably be most convenient, but in order to obtain records of the whole range of the tides it is of course necessary that the float should not be left dry at low water. In some instances the float is fixed in a well sunk above high water mark to such a depth that the bottom of it is below the lowest low water level, and a small pipe is then laid under the beach from the well to, and below, low water, so that the water stands continuously in the well at the same level as the sea. ”

“ Be careful not to run aground on the top of high water spring tides, or you may be neaped as it is called, that is, you will not have water to float you off until the next springs, and must remain stuck in the mud for maybe a fortnight. ”

“ A friend may hold up your chin, or a light float may be fastened behind your shoulders. The body of a person is very little heavier than water, and a slight exertion, rightly directed, will keep it afloat for hours.
FLOATING. The most important step, after learning to swim, is to learn how to float. 52A skillful swimmer may find himself overtaken by cramp while in deep water. He can turn upon his back and float until he recovers or help reaches him. In case of shipwreck, or where a person is forced to stay a long time in water, he can rest by floating. ”

“ Things being placed aright, out they pull on the heaving sea—the incoming tide having been looked to beforehand, so that at high tide the lighted lanterns may be set afloat and go drifting at their will with the falling flood. ”

“ A person who has been at sea, may almost fancy that he hears the resounding dash of the water against the curved bow, and the seething of the angry wave as it rises on each side. The idea of motion is admirably conveyed in the representation of the wave lashing over the floating mast, which is tossed about like a light spar by the violence of the sea; and the continued inward roll of the water, from the side and bow of the boat towards the shore, is no less naturally expressed. ”

“ It is true, that bodies which float in the water, when carried along on the tops of the waves towards a shelving beach, having acquired a certain velocity, are thrown farther in upon the land than the distance they would have floated to, if they had been simply sustained by the water. ”

“ It is used as a tide gage installation to dampen the wind waves while freely admitting the tide to actuate a float which, in turn, operates the gage. Also called STILLING WELL.
floe. , n. Any relatively flat piece of sea ice 20 meters or more across. Floes are subdivided according to horizontal extent. A giant flow is over 5.4 nautical miles across; a vast floe is 1.1 to 5.4 nautical miles across; a big floe is 500 to 2000 meters across; a medium floe is 100 to 500 meters across; and a small floe is 20 to 100 meters across. ”

“ From a circular float which comes just under the armpits ropes are attached, which suspend the buoy from a pulley block running upon the large line. It takes but a minute for a man to fix himself in the "breeches," and then he is hauled through the air—perhaps part of the way through the water—to the shore. ”

“ A tremendous stream is flowing towards the ocean carrying us all along with it; and though like straws and scraps of paper we may at times float aimlessly about, in the long run we are sure to join the Ocean of Life and Bliss. ”

“ If a raft, or a ship, or any other structure floating upon water be carefully observed, it will be seen to have a gentle fluctuating motion. However calm the water and the atmosphere may be, this gradual rising and falling of the floating mass is always more or less observable. ”

“ This lasted a few minutes, when an order from the mate called us both below. When I reached the deck, the boat was already a long distance astern, and had evidently given up the idea of boarding us. I do not know whether I felt the most relieved or pained by the certainty of this fact.
CHAPTER IV. “There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows, and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat; And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures.” ”

“ In the distance a seal is barking—a low muffled sound that travels far over the calm water, and occasionally a slight splash breaks the silence, as a piece of snow separates from the field and joins its companion pieces that are floating quietly past our stern to the north—a mysterious, silent procession of soft, white spirits, each perfectly reflected in the lavender sea. ”

“ So singularly clear was the water, that where it was only twenty or thirty feet deep the bottom was so perfectly distinct that the boat seemed floating in the air! ”

“ Therefore he spake, and thus said he:— "Like unto ships far off at sea, Outward or homeward bound, are we. Before, behind, and all around, Floats and swings the horizon's bound, Seems at its distant rim to rise And climb the crystal wall of the skies, And then again to turn and sink, As if we could slide from its outer brink. Ah! it is not the sea, It is not the sea that sinks and shelves, But ourselves That rock and rise With endless and uneasy motion, Now touching the very skies, Now sinking into the depths of ocean. Ah! ”

“ The swimmer adrift on the open seas measures his strength, and strives with all his muscles to keep himself afloat. But what is he to do when there is no land on the horizon, and none beyond it? ”

“ Perhaps, if the tide was heavy and at its flood, and a breaker heavier than the rest breached shorewards in a white wall of seething foam, and crashed and rattled together the loose coral slabs that marked the line of high-water mark, the silent, dreaming man would spring to his feet with a loud warning call. ”

“ The coal-black driftwood, gleaming wet, Relic of by-gone vessel stout, With its clinging shells, seems a bar of jet, Studded with pearls, when the tide goes out. When the tide goes out, how the breezes blow The nodding plumes of the pine-trees through; How the far-off ships, like flakes of snow, Are lightly sprinkled upon the blue! The Sea, as he moves in his slow retreat, Like a warrior struggling for each redoubt, But with flashing lances the sand-bars meet And drive him back, when the tide goes out. ”

“ the great flood-gates of the wonder-world swung open, and in the wild conceits that swayed me to my purpose, two and two there floated into my inmost soul, endless processions of the whale, and, mid most of them all, one grand hooded phantom, like a snow hill in the air. ”

“ But the tide was still rising, and very soon the biggest waves began to come quite over the rocks, rolling the big beasts over and even washing them off, and it angered them when the waves struck them, and they roared aloud, and by and by they began to go away, some disappearing beneath the water, others with heads above the surface swimming away out into the open sea, until all were gone. ”

“ At length the tide began to flow, the ship began to bury forward; down she went, till the water was coming into the hawse-holes, the cable sung, and the tar began to stand in drops on it with the strain, when all at once the anchor let go with a surge that threw every man from his feet. The tide was very convenient then; if it had not been for it, we must have gone ashore, got a grappling, and grappled to the fluke of the anchor, or left it. Again the tide is very convenient for a timepiece; if you keep the run of the tide, you have the time of day. ”

“ Porter, “Stop and think about it a moment. Which is heavier, sand or water? Why should this boat sink if we swap a load of sand for a load of water? As the water comes in, the sand falls out, and the boat, relieved of the weight of the sand, actually rises ten feet higher out of the water,”
When they were “cracking” the bins, the sand sank a trifle, but presently the worm-shafts began to turn again, and, out of troughs at each side, there was a rush of water. The sand sank rapidly, and melted away under the stream. ”

“ Here accordingly the flood-tide—for this tide often retreats from the land and bursts back again over the beach coming on with a rush and roar—thrust them suddenly on to the innermost shore, and but little of the keel was left in the water. And they leapt forth from the ship, and sorrow seized them when they gazed on the mist and the levels of vast land stretching far like a mist and continuous into the distance; no spot for water, no path, no steading of herdsmen did they descry afar off, but all the scene was possessed by a dead calm. ”

“ Meanwhile the tide having turned, little sister boat made fine way of it down the river, and, burrowing in the fog, holding her breath as it were, and greatly assisted by the tide, slipped past the town unseen, and put for open sea, where it is to be supposed she enjoyed herself hugely and, finally, becoming a little skeleton of herself on unknown shores, was gathered up by somebody who wanted a pretty fire with green lights in it. ”

“ Fishermen who have got ashore on a sandbank in a bit of a sea declare that they can tell at once whether the tide is ebbing or flowing by the way the vessel bumps. On the flood-tide the sand is alive, but on the ebb it is dead and as hard as flint. Ask them for an explanation, and they will retort with further facts, such as that in a calm on the flood-tide the sand can be seen boiling up in the water, but never on the ebb. ”

“ Resting upon our oars, or only using them to keep the boat's head to the break of the sea, and to prevent her being swamped—an operation during which they were as often flourished in the air as in the ocean, when we rose on the crest of one vast heaving wave, or sank into the dark vale of water between two—resting thus, we gazed in silence and with aching hearts at the destruction of our home upon the sea. ”

“ WE have all stood many times by the seashore, watching the waves, crested with white foam, roll in and break upon the rocks or beach. Every one has more than once cast a stone upon still water in a lake or pond, and noticed the expanding rings of ripples; and some have voyaged over stormy seas, whereon great ships are tossed by mighty billows with no more seeming effort than the rocking of a cradle. In all these things we have been spectators of a wave-motion, as it is called, taking place upon a water surface. ”

“ A heavy flood tide was setting through it against the northeast gale, which raised a heavy sea. The waves reared as if about to fall backward, while the wind tore off their white curling tops and carried them away in the form of gray scud. Never before have I seen the sea in so hearty and exhilarating a motion. ”

“ It was easy to perceive, that to be thrown among rocks, by such a sea, must be the destruction of us all. Hence it was of the utmost importance to discover, and to anchor off, the part of the shore which appeared to be most free from rocks; and with this view the mate was looking out from the mast head. As he perceived an apparently clear beach east of us, and within our ability of reaching, we steered for it; and when the water was only six fathoms deep, we lowered our sails and came to anchor. ”

“ On the contrary, it is about as despicable a one as can be found. The tide rises and falls with great rapidity, and we found on nearing the entrance that we were just in time to be too late. The alternative was to remain on the vessel two hours or trust to the skill of a boatman, who could not speak a word of English, in a little boat, with a tide running like a mill stream, and thus gain the shore. ”

“ I had undergone some lifeboat experiences in my time, but never before was nature so exhausted in me. The roaring of the gale, the cannonading of the deck-house by incessant heavy showerings of water, the extravagant motions of the plunging and rolling vessel, might have been a mother's lullaby sung by the side of a gently-rocked cradle, so deep was the slumber these sounds of thunder left unvexed. ”

“ With a stiff breeze blowing, the breakers are superb, especially when wind and tide are battling with each other. With the wind blowing freshly over these shallow waters, it does not take long for the seas to assume proportions simply appalling to a lands-man. [Pg 345] It was a magnificent sight! Great waves erected themselves into solid walls of green, advancing at first majestically, then rushing with course to crash in clouds of foam upon the opposite shore. It needs a skillful boatman at the helm. ”

“ Sometimes she rose high above us, almost exposing her keel to view, and again descended as we in our turn rose to the top of the wave, threatening to bury her beneath us, whilst the crashing of the breaking upper works and boats increased the horror of the scene. ”

“ On one occasion a large net full of fish was caught by the tide before it could be dragged on shore, and carried away against the rocks, when not only did the fish get free, but the net itself was almost destroyed. ”

“ As the wave travels, this water obligingly heaps itself into the wave, gravity does the rest, and down you go, sliding the whole length of it. If you still cherish the notion, while sliding, that the water is moving with you, thrust your arms into it and attempt to paddle; you will find that you have to be remarkably quick to get a stroke, for that water is dropping astern just as fast as you are rushing ahead. ”

“ And soon the tide began to slacken, and the craft lying at anchor to swing, and presently they had all swung round, and the ships that were taking advantage of the new tide to get up to the Pool, began to crowd upon us in a fleet, and we kept under the shore, as much out of the strength of the tide now as we could, standing carefully off from low shallows and mud-banks. ”

“ Once more the running stream is stopped, and slowly the muddy tide rises higher and higher, obliterates the lowlands and creeps slowly up the sides of the high ground, around the skirts of its pygmy mountain-chains, and rolls restored amid groups of remade islets. ”