Raising Islands
There is an experience that sailors share. For the past week, we have been sailing North from Grenada along the West Indies.
If you are on course, one island after another slowly rises out of the sea as you approach it. Out here you see and feel the curve of the earth. Clouds do a similar thing on the horizon. 50 miles away, you see just the very top of a cloud. Most of the cloud remains below the horizon until you get closer to it.
Similarly, a large island can look quite different as you approach it. You see just the top of the landmass. Everything else is below the aqua horizon. Slowly the island rises from the water as you draw closer. It’s all a bit disorienting to us long-time landlubbers. Every time we see an island raising we are humbled.
If you are on course, one island after another slowly rises out of the sea as you approach it. Out here you see and feel the curve of the earth. Clouds do a similar thing on the horizon. 50 miles away, you see just the very top of a cloud. Most of the cloud remains below the horizon until you get closer to it.
Similarly, a large island can look quite different as you approach it. You see just the top of the landmass. Everything else is below the aqua horizon. Slowly the island rises from the water as you draw closer. It’s all a bit disorienting to us long-time landlubbers. Every time we see an island raising we are humbled.
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