Sea Fever and the Ocean's Colorful Creatures

[beautress]

Ever been enchanted by John Masefield's words?

Sea Fever

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
​

My uncle served in the Navy in WWII, and when he got home, he had aquariums all over his house full of the most beautiful, colorful fish that were completely delightful to me. I'm hoping other people have the love for these colorful creatures and will share their experiences and particular admiration for what caught their eye.

All things bright and beautiful in the sea. Please add all your favorite things about the sea, won't you?

​

 

[beautress]

Sometimes you throw out a line and don't get any bites. Okay, I'll have to put on my thinking cap and get some good ol' salts in here, so if anyone is running the words Navy, Ships, Deep sea Fishing, Frogman, Navy Seals, or anything to do with Tropical Fish, Sailing, Oceanography, sea, sailing, or the Atlantic or Pacific, hope they will come on over and contribute the wisdom only those who've had a career on the sea can share. In the meantime, painters needing subject matter and love colors can strike a chord with a lot of people who may be landlubbers but are always joyed to look at sea stuff.

/end of sales pitch

edit: found a couple of things related to colorful fish and the sea:

One of the last years I ran a quilt store in Wyoming, I had a fabric very similar to this one on a bolt I ordered from the shop. It had a dark blue and a turquoise blue, but this panel found on Bing reminded me so much of that fabric with its colorful fish and the wonderful feel the artist planted in my brain as in the Sound of Silence.

​

 

[Manonthestreet]

Which Star Trek Capt quoted that ....

 

[ABikerSailor]

I remember one time out at sea, the sun was getting ready to set, and there was a storm just over the horizon. When the sun went behind the clouds as it was setting, it made them blaze red, and it looked like the whole horizon was on fire. It was impressive enough to see that the CO called the whole ship's attention to it and urged us to go out and take a look, because we might never see something as cool as that again.

I also enjoyed standing all the way at the bow of the ship everytime as we passed through the Straits of Gilbratar. Why? Because every time we came through there, there would always be a pod or two of dolphins that would escort us through while playing around in the bow wake. It was beautiful to see the way they would jump and dive in and around the wake.

Scariest thing I've ever seen out at sea? We were running through the Red Sea one afternoon, and when I looked over the side, there was a HUGE ball of sea snakes about 30 to 40 ft across, all writhing and squirming. Was told that if someone fell into them, they would last all of around 30 sec. as those snakes are exceedingly poisonous. But, I gotta say, I'll never forget any of those sights.

As far as recreation and the sea? Snorkeling in coral reefs is really fun and you can see all sorts of critters down there. If you are lucky, sometimes a sea turtle will come over and swim around with you.

 

[beautress]

Some cheerful seafarin' music:

​

 

[beautress]

I remember one time out at sea, the sun was getting ready to set, and there was a storm just over the horizon. When the sun went behind the clouds as it was setting, it made them blaze red, and it looked like the whole horizon was on fire. It was impressive enough to see that the CO called the whole ship's attention to it and urged us to go out and take a look, because we might never see something as cool as that again.

I also enjoyed standing all the way at the bow of the ship everytime as we passed through the Straits of Gilbratar. Why? Because every time we came through there, there would always be a pod or two of dolphins that would escort us through while playing around in the bow wake. It was beautiful to see the way they would jump and dive in and around the wake.

Scariest thing I've ever seen out at sea? We were running through the Red Sea one afternoon, and when I looked over the side, there was a HUGE ball of sea snakes about 30 to 40 ft across, all writhing and squirming. Was told that if someone fell into them, they would last all of around 30 sec. as those snakes are exceedingly poisonous. But, I gotta say, I'll never forget any of those sights.

As far as recreation and the sea? Snorkeling in coral reefs is really fun and you can see all sorts of critters down there. If you are lucky, sometimes a sea turtle will come over and swim around with you.

​

Wow, just wow, ABikerSailor! That's got to be one of the best posts I've ever seen at USMB.

Even so, I've heard that "Red sky at morning, better take a-warnin', Red sky at night, Sailor's delight." What you said about it gives that a new dimension for me. I made a quilt with a red ship and sails once for a poor kid, and named it "Red sky at morning." just because of that saying. I'll try to find some pictures that bring your great post a visual aspect. My late big brother was a lifer in the US Navy, served on the Midway for years, too. The Navy made him a better man, and because of it, he made it as good a Navy as he could with his skills in making phantom jets safe for the pilots that flew them. He spent his high school years sliding by in school so he could work on cars so he could have one. lol I'm so grateful for his life, even though we fought like cats n dogs when we were kids...

Hats off to the Captain that brought all the men aboard to see the red sky. I'm sure this one is not as good as being there and seeing nature's fury unfolding in red...
but hope it reminds a special sailor of his special gift in serving this nation on some of those notorious 20-hour working days at seas only sailors know.

​

 

[beautress]

Which Star Trek Capt quoted that ....

Patrick Stewart (CaptainJean-Luc Picard)? William Shatner (Captain Kirk)? Though Picard was also a poet, Shatner was a flat-out genius from what I've heard, so it's not clear to me who'd have quoted the Brit, John Masefield's poem "Sea Fever" - if that was even your reference, sir.

 

[beautress]

Turtles noticed by snorkelers on coral reefs:

​

 

[petro]

Looking forward to going to Fl. Keys at end of Feb. Already sick of winter.
Hoping to snorkel and go out on the water.
Been to half the country but have never seen the ocean.

 

[beautress]

I noticed some of those turtles had rusty orange shells. I found that there are also green turtles and liked this one which seems to be a perfect specimen.

​

 

[beautress]

Looking forward to going to Fl. Keys at end of Feb. Already sick of winter.
Hoping to snorkel and go out on the water.
Been to half the country but have never seen the ocean.

Oh, Petro, I hope you do go and try snorkeling. You may have a local gymn that has an indoor pool and build up your lungs for holding your breath. They say that's a plus when you're snorkeling, to be able to hold your breath for as long as it takes to survive any problems, and practicing holding your breath for longer and longer intervals over a six-week period can result in helping you help yourself in a pinch. Seems I've heard people starting out with holding their breaths for several seconds can change that into several minutes in a couple of months. Best wishes on having the time of your life out there.

 

[beautress]

There is an Island called Lembeh famous for its leafy sea dragons and other gems of the sea:

​

​

 

[beautress]

~~~White Whales including Belugas~~~

​

 

[beautress]

~~~~Those Dancin' Madagascar Rainbow Fish Video~~~~

​

 

[Manonthestreet]

 

[beautress]

Sea divers at Roatan Island (Honduras, Gulf of Mexico)

​

 

[ABikerSailor]

There is an Island called Lembeh famous for its leafy sea dragons and other gems of the sea:

​

​

Seeing stuff like that is why I like snorkeling in the ocean around the reefs. Once, while diving in Hawaii, I got to see a rainbow colored crab that was really cool looking. Dunno what kind it was, but it looked like it had been tie dyed by a hippie with a full color palette.

 

[beautress]

​

 

[beautress]

​

 

[beautress]