TIDES AND WAVES 73 



tend over a very wide area of the ocean and 

 one may sail from smooth, pleasant weather 

 into a heavy sea and gale and out again into 

 calm water in a comparatively short time. To 

 the landsman unfamiliar with the sea, a storm 

 or a heavy sea may appear to cover the entire 

 ocean, but in reality it may extend only for a 

 few miles. When a ship is tossing about and 

 rolling madly among mountainous waves, with 

 a gale howling and screeching through the 

 rigging and sleet and rain pelting down like 

 shot from a gun, it is hard indeed to realise 

 that, within a few miles, some other vessel may 

 be sailing under a sunny sky with a gentle 

 lyy wind and over an almost smooth sea. 



Some parts of the ocean are far more stormy 

 than others and in such places sailors look 

 for gales, rough seas, fogs and bad weather. 

 In the North Atlantic, around Cape Horn and 

 in many other places mariners are far more 

 apt to encounter foul weather than fair, while 

 in other localities good weather is the rule 

 and severe storms are seldom met. Between 

 the eastern coast of the United States and the 

 West Indies and Africa one may often travel 



