University of Virginia Library

Chapter X.
Proper tearmes for the Winds, Ebbes, Floods,
and Eddies, with their definitions, and an
estimate of the depth of the Sea, by the height
of the Hils and the largenesse of the Earth.

WHEN there is not a breath of wind stirring, it is a calme or a
starke calme. A Breze is a wind blowes out of the Sea, and commonly
in faire weather beginneth about nine in the morning, and
lasteth till neere night; so likewise all the night it is from the shore
which is called a Turnado, or a Sea-turne, but this is but upon such
coasts where it bloweth thus most certainly, except it be a storme, or
very fowle weather, as in Barbaria, Ægypt, and the most of the
Levant. We have such Brezes in most hot countreys in Summer, but

they are very uncertaine. A fresh Gale is that doth presently blow
after a calme, when the wind beginneth to quicken or blow. A faire
Loome Gale is the best to saile in, because the Sea goeth not high,
and we beare out all our sailes. A stiffe Gale is so much wind as our
top-sailes can endure to beare. An Eddie wind is checked by the saile,
a mountaine, turning, or any such thing that makes it returne backe
againe. It over blowes when we can beare no top-sailes. A flaw of
wind is a Gust which is very violent upon a sudden, but quickly
endeth. A Spout in the West Indies commonly falleth in those Gusts,
which is, as it were, a small river falling entirely from the clouds, like
out of our water Spouts, which make the Sea where it falleth rebound
∥ in flashes exceeding high. Whirle winds runneth round, and
bloweth divers wayes at once. A storme is knowne to every one not
to bee much lesse than a tempest, that will blow downe houses, and
trees up by the roots. A Mounsoune is a constant wind in the East
Indies, that bloweth alwayes three moneths together one way, and
the next three moneths the contrary way. A Hericano is so violent in
the West Indies, it will continue three, foure, or five weekes, but they
have it not past once in five, six, or seven yeeres; but then it is with
such extremity that the Sea flies like raine, and the waves so high,
they over flow the low grounds by the Sea, in so much, that ships
have been driven over tops of high trees there growing, many leagues
into the land, and there left, as was Captaine Francis Nelson an
Englishman, and an excellent Sea man for one.

We say a calme sea, or Becalmed, when it is so smooth the ship
moves very little, and the men leap over boord to swim. A Rough
Sea is when the waves grow high. An overgrowne Sea when the
surges and billowes goe highest. The Rut of the sea where it doth
dash against any thing. And the Roaring of the Sea is most commonly
observed a shore, a little before a storme or after a storme.

Flood is when the water beginneth to rise, which is young flood
as we call it, then quarter flood, halfe flood, full Sea, still water, or
high water. So when it Ebbes, quarter ebbe, halfe ebbe, three quarter
ebbe, low water, or dead low water every one doth know; and also
that as at a spring tide the Sea or water is at the highest, so at a Neape
tide it is at the lowest. This word Tide, is common both to Flood and
Ebbe; for you say as well tide of ebbe, as tide of flood, or a windward
Tide when the Tide runnes against the streame, as a Lee-warde
Tide, that is, when the wind and the Tide goeth both one way, which
makes the water as smooth as the other rough. To Tide over to a
place, is to goe over with the Tide of ebbe or flood, and stop the contrary
by anchoring till the next Tide, thus you may worke against
the wind if it over blow not. A Tide gate is where ∥ the tide runneth

strongest. It flowes Tide and halfe Tide, that is, it will be halfe flood
by the shore, before it begin to flow in the channell; for although the
Tide of flood run aloft, yet the Tide of ebbe runnes close by the
ground. An Eddie tide is where the water doth runne backe contrary
to the tide, that is, when some headland or great point in a
River hindereth the free passage of the streame, that causeth the
water on the other side the point to turne round by the shore as in a
circle, till it fall into the tide againe.

As touching the reasons of ebbes and floods, and to know how
far it is to the bottome of the deepest place of the Sea, I will not take
upon me to discourse of; as knowing the same to be the secrets of
God unrevealed to man: only I will set downe a Philosophicall speculation
of divers mens opinions touching the depth of the Sea; which
I hope will not be thought much impertinent to the subject of this
booke by the judicious Reader.

Fabianus in Plinie, and Cleomides conceived the depth of the
Sea to be fifteene furlongs, that is, a mile and 7/8 parts, Plutarch
compared it equall to the highest mountaines, Scallinger and others
conceited the hils farre surpassed the deepnesse of the Sea, and that
in few places it is more than a hundered paces in depth, it may bee
hee meant in some narrow Seas, but in the maine Ocean experience
hathtaught us it is much more than twice so much, for I have
sounded 300. fadome, yet found no ground. Eratosthenes in Theon
that great Mathematitian writeth the highest mountain perpendicular
is but ten furlongs, that is, one mile and a quarter. Also
Dicæarcus affirmeth this to be the height of the hill Pelius in Thessalia,
but Xenagoras in Plutarch observed the height of Olimpus in
the same region to be twenty paces more, which is 1270. paces, but
surely all those meane onely those mountaines in or about Greece
where they lived and were best acquainted; but how these may compare
with the Alps in Asia, Atlas in Africa, Caucasus in India, the
Andes in Peru, and divers others hathnot yet beene examined.

But whatsoever the hils may be above the superficies of the
earth, many hold opinion the Sea is much deeper, who suppose that
the earth at the first framing was in the superficies regular and sphericall,
as the holy Scriptures directs us to beleeve; because the water
covered and compassed all the face of the earth, also that the face of
the earth was equall to that of the Sea. Damascen noteth, that the
unevennesse and irregularity which now is seene in the earths superficies,
was caused by taking some parts out of the upper face of the
earth in sundry places to make it more hollow, and lay them in other

places to make it more convex, or by raising up some part and depressing
others to make roome and receit for the Sea, that mutation
being wrought by the power of the word of the Lord, Let the waters
be gathered into one place that the dry land may appeare. As for
Aquinas, Dionysius, Catharianus, and some Divines that conceited
there was no mutation, but a violent accumulation of the waters, or
heaping them up on high is unreasonable; because it is against
nature, that water being a flexible and a ponderous body, so to consist
and stay it selfe, and not fall to the lower parts about it; where in
nature there is nothing to hinder it, or, if it be restrained supernaturally
by the hand and bridle of Almighty God, lest it should
over-whelme and drowne all the land, it must follow, that God even
in the very institution of nature imposed a perpetuall violence upon
nature. And this with all, that at the Deluge there was no necessity
to breake up the springs of the deepe and to open the cattaracts of
Heaven, and powre downe water continually so many daies and
nights together, seeing the only with-drawing of that hand, or letting
goe of that bridle which restraineth the water would presently have
overwhelmed all.

But both by Scriptures, the experience of Navigators, and
reason in making estimation of the depth of the Sea, reckon not onely
the height of the hils above the common superficies of the earth, but
the height of all the dry land above the superficies of the Sea, because
the whole masse ∥ of earth that now appeareth above the waters,
being taken as it were out of the places which the waters now possesse,
must be equall to the place out of which it was taken; so consequently
it seemeth, that the height or elevation of the one should answer the
descending or depth of the other; and therefore in estimating the
depth of the Sea, wee consider not onely the erection of the hils above
the ordinary land, but the advantage of the dry land above the Sea;
which latter, I meane the height of the ordinary maine land, excluding
the hils, which properly answer the extraordinary deepes and
whirle-pooles in the Sea. The rest is held more in large Continents
above the Sea, than that of the hils is above the land.

For that the plain face of the dry land is not level, or equally
distant from the Center, but hatha great descent towards the Sea,
and a rising towards the mid-land parts, although it appeare not
plainly to the eye, yet to reason it is most manifest; because we find
that part of the earth the Sea covereth descendeth lower and lower
towards the Sea. For the Sea, which touching the upper face of it, is
knowne by nature to be levell and evenly distant from the center, is
observed to wax deeper and deeper the further one saileth from the
shore towards the maine Ocean: even so in that part which is uncovered,
the streamings of Rivers on all sides from the midland parts
towards the Sea, sliding from the higher to the lower declareth so
much, whose courses are some 1000. or 2000. miles, in which declination,

Pliny in his derivation of water requireth one cubit of declining
in 240. foot of proceeding. But Columella, Vitruvius, Paladius,
and others, in their conduction of waters require somewhat lesse;
namely, that in the proceeding of 200. foot forward, there should bee
allowed one foot of descending downeward, which yet in the course
of 1000. miles, as Danubius, Volgha, or Indus, etc. have so much or
more, which will make five miles of descent in perpendicular account,
and in the course of 2000. or more, as Nilus, Niger, and the River of
the Amazons have 10. miles or more of the like descent.

These are not taken as rules of necessity, as though water could
not runne without that advantage, for that respect the conveyers of
waters in these times content themselves with one inch in 600. foot,
as Philander and Vitruvius observed, but is rather under a rule of
commodity for expedition and wholsomnesse of water so conveyed,
lest resting too long in pipes it should contract some unwholsome
condition, or else through the slacknesse of motion, or long closenesse,
or banishment from the aire, gather some aptnesse and disposition
to putrifie. Although I say, such excesse of advantage as in
the artificiall conveyance of waters the forenamed Authors require,
be not of necessity exacted in the naturall derivation of them, yet
certaine it is, that the descent of rivers being continually and their
course long, and in many places swift, and in some places headlong
and furious; the differences of height or advantage cannot be great
betwixt the springs of the rivers and their out lets, betwixt the first
rising out of the earth and their falling into the Sea: unto which declinity
of land seeing the deepenesse of the Sea in proportion answer
as I before declared, and not onely to the height of the hils: it is concluded,
that the deepenesse to bee much more than the Philosophers
commonly reputed: and although the deepnesse of the Sardinian
Sea, which Aristotle saith, was the deepest of the Mediterranean,
recorded by Posidonius in Strabo, to have beene found but 1000.
fadome, which is but a mile and a fifth part, and the greatest bredth
not past 600. miles: then seeing if in so narrow a Sea it be so deepe,
what may we esteeme the maine Ocean to be, that in many places is
five times so broad, seeing the broader the Seas are, if they be intire
and free from Ilands, they are answerably observed to be the deeper.
If you desire any further satisfaction, reade the first part of Purchas
his Pilgrimage, where you may reade how to find all those Authors
at large.

Now because he hathtaken neere 100. times as much from
me, I have made bold to borrow this from him, seeing he hath
sounded such deepe waters for this our Ship ∥ to saile in, being a
Gentleman whose person I loved, and whose memory and vertues I
will ever honour.