and no, this is not a bodily function post...well, I guess it could be because of calling the/a sea a body of water, nevertheless it isn't about what you think or at least what I think you think.
O.K.
I read a book about the sea and sea tales written by famous writers.
What does this have to do with sea gas you ask?
It (the book) describes all the hazards one faces at sea. It (the sea) is much more formidable than I had thought. Of course, my experience with the sea is limited actually to boating in the bay...oh wait, the whale watching cruises were on the open sea, at least where you could no longer sight land.
Anyway, did you know, for instance, that most whirlpools (maelstrom) are relatively permanent although they do appear and disappear depending on the tides? Some of the famous (which I was completely unaware even existed for reals) ones are Corryvreckan in Scotland; Saltstraumen near Norway; Naruto Whirlpool off Shikoku island (Japan); Old Sow near Maine-New Brunswick border and the original Moskstraumen (which gave us the word Maelstrom) in Arctic Norway. Not to mention, whirlpools can just pop up unawares!
Next, there are rogue waves (as if the whirlpools weren't enough.)
They too can turn up unannounced and can hit a ship along her side and cause it to capsize. Here I quote "if a ship is not flipped (when a rogue wave hits) she can take on so much water that she sinks. If the wave hits the ship head on, the ship will first drop down into the trough before being raised back up. For very large ships, this can snap her in half. Survivors often report that a hole opens up in front of some rogue waves and in 1974 a Norwegian tanker was hit by a wave that tore off the tip of the ship and twisted the I-beams in her frame. A witness said, 'There was no sea in front of the ship, only a hole, and then she slammed into a mountain of water.'"
It states that modern ships are designed to handle waves up to 50 feet in height, but waves up to 112 feet have been recorded hitting ships, lighthouses and oil platforms. (Research suggests that some waves can exceed 132 feet from trough [hole] to crest and a 100 foot wave can form within eleven minutes, travel up to 45 mph and then disappear almost as rapidly!)
There are also tempests, ice floes, ice bergs, being trapped in ice, pirates (yes there are still pirates, not the 'Jack Sparrow' movie-type or the real life Blackbeard. These pirates use uzis, rocket-propelled grenades, satellite navigation devices, cell phones and speedboats. According to the International Maritime Bureau, pirate attacks around the world tripled between 1993 and 2003. It would be way more interesting if they at least wore eye patches and had peg-legs and such...arrr!), fog banks, sea-monsters (and aye, there be monsters. Not only giant squid but there are now 'colossal squid' as well. Nasty buggers yar, large or small [sorry, I'm still in pirate mode.]), ghost ships, the dreaded sea gas (methane gas that forms at the bottom of the ocean and sometimes breaks loose and surfaces. If a ship is near by it can be demolished and sunk...if not, I'm sure the fumes would kill you), the Bermuda triangle, aliens (the illegal ones from outer space that is) and Cthulhu.
Oh, and merpeople, who lure sailors to their doom, and maybe sailorettes too, because I think there are both mermaids and mermen.
And if you try dumping toxic waste and such, beware of Prince Namor, and perhaps Aquaman...
Have I left anything/one out?
Anyhow, thought I would pass this information on.
The sea is scary.
But pretty.
I still like it.
The sea.
Oh, and I have a greater admiration for seamen.
Seemann in German.
Sea men.
Men of the sea.
I think I will just stop now, while I’m ahead...and not the aboard ship use of the word.
I'm stopping......
Now.
to take me with, into it's depths.