Journal of a Sabbatical

January 24, 1999

big waves

The best place in Rhode Island to watch the surf is Beavertail Light. I got excited when I heard the weather forecast last night, because they predicted high winds and heavy surf. This morning I dragged Nancy with me in the rain to Beavertail Light. The weather wasn't as menacing as the forecast had led us to believe, but it was raining cats and dogs.

Standing in the rain looking out over the turbulent waters gave me a strong sense of how puny we humans are in face of raw powerful nature. The sea is mighty and we are not. Beavertail is exposed to that raw power as it is surrounded by water on three sides. The rocks break up the waves in interesting ways, so you'll see two waves that look like they're both rolling straight in suddenly collide with each other before they reach shore, producing a huge swell. Watching them reminded me of high school physics experiments with sending waves through springs and watching them collide. Sometimes the waves will cancel each other out, sometimes they'll multiply each other's energy. Anyway, the waves were big and watching them in the rain was primal.