Saturday, February 04, 2006

going down to meet the sea

The wind whipped the sea into a frenzy today and I went down to meet it. There's been a storm brewing for a few days and high wind warnings were issued for today. When I woke up this morning I could hear the wind howling and I knew I had to go and see it for myself.


It was incredible. The wind was so strong I had to pay attention to how I was standing to make sure I kept my balance. There were quite a few people down at the beach and almost everyone had a camera. The wind was playing something down there, I think it might have been the hydro wires but whatever it was you could hear it singing over the sound of the storm itself. It kept changing between three or four notes. I can see why sailors believed in sirens.

I am not a storm chaser, but there is a terrific beauty to the rawness of open water caught in a prevailing wind. The whole beach succumbed to it. The seagulls were grounded, all of the drift wood was mobile again. I'll have to head back after the storm clears to see if my favourite spot still exists.

Down by the pier the spray was going right up over the breakwater. I hope that the boats moored there are riding the storm well. Walking along by the old train station the waves were high enough and close enough to drench the boardwalk with each passing. I met a lady who was down there just trying to walk and she looked like she had jumped into the sea itself.

I had my fill and headed home to a hot shower and a latte and a cinnamon bun. As I got in the car I could taste salt water on my lips.

Update Sunday: This should have been posted Saturday but the power was out. Anyone know how to edit the date stamp on a post?

3 comments:

Katinka said...

Some friends and I had thought about visiting the beach on Saturday but were told that there were almost gale force winds lashing the shoreline...but your experience makes me wish we had gone after all.

By the way, the photos remind me so much of the Lochard Gorge in Australia...it's renown for it's wild and dangerous beauty, having snatched many an unfortunate sailor or fisherman into it's briny depths.

kelly ens said...

Cool pictures! :)
When you post an entry, or go back to edit it, at the bottom of the page (just above the save and post buttons) is a line that says "Post and Comment Options." Click on that, and then it'll show the option to change the date/time stamp.

DAve and JAnie said...

dave here: Drat! I was racing into the comment section to inform you on changing the date stamp.. but i see it has been done! Oh, we put a video up of Corrina on our blog. Be sure to check it out! We will add more as we make more.
Really enjoyed the post!