Pottering Photos – Water’s Edge

The coastal yachtsman is ever conscious of the proximity of the shore and possible dangers as a result. During my South Coast cruise I was tuned in to the rise and fall of the tides, almost as a woman is constantly aware of her monthly cycle. Tides and a female’s monthly cycles are linked, in that they occur over periods of 28 days, that’s not to say that every woman has her period at the same time. The moon’s complete cycle from full to new takes 28 days. There are 13 lunar months in a year. 13 times 28 equal 364 days, approximately 365 days for the completion of a year. How wondrous is that!

 

Forces involved with the rise and fall of tides are stupendous; likewise the lateral movement of the oceans’ waters brought about by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon are mind-boggling. In my little boat I was very conscious of their awesome power. Wherever and whenever possible I worked in harmony with tidal flows and ebbs. To fight them was not a wise policy.

 

The boundary between sea and land is a fascinating environment where moving waters wage wars of erosion, or they build up silt, sand or pebbles; they can wash them away or set layers of marshland reshaping the coast.

From seaward the yachtsman has an ever-changing scene; perhaps chalk cliffs, granite cliffs, red sandstone escarpments, sand dunes, pebble beaches, glorious sandy beaches, tree-clad slopes, bracken covered mounds - the list is endless. They are all for the enjoyment of the yachtsman, unless they become places of danger when onshore gales remorselessly sweep over them.

 God’s Word, the Bible, reassures us that the oceans of the world will never again cover the earth as during the worldwide Flood. (Genesis 9:11) The boundary between sea and land will be maintained.

Psalm 104 speaks of the Creation when God allotted the oceans to their places, setting boundaries for them.

Psalm 104:5-9

‘You who laid the foundation of the earth,

So that it should not be moved forever,

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;

The waters stood above the mountains.

At Your rebuke they fled;

At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.

They went up over the mountains;

They went down into the valleys,

To the place which You founded for them.

You have set a boundary that they may not pass over,

That they may not return to cover the earth.’