Feeling Some Ennui? Cabin Fever Got You Gnawing at Your Bits or Your Cabin Mates'? Well Folks, G

Yes, the Doldrums (I'll get to the potatoes in a bit), usually referred to as the dreaded doldrums, is a state of complete calm mostly found around the equator. This "seemingly" tranquil condition creates two opposing events...

Picture this. A clear blue sky, sun beating down and not a lick of wind to be felt. Water that resembles a sheet of glass. Great conditions for swimming, diving, snorkeling and motor-boating but not for sailing across the seas. Not only because forward momentum comes to a numbing halt but also because an eerie phenomenon occurs, the horizon disappears.

It's hard to describe how unsettling this is to those who've not experienced it.

The horizon, as it turns out, is something that we take for granted but very much so need. We don't think about it when we watch a stunning sunrise or sunset. We look and marvel at the sun on those occasions. The horizon is just a factor that allows us to appreciate the sun's movements.

When it disappears, uneasiness slips in. Calm is a rather tough variable to deal with when it's forced upon us. Think about what happens when someone tells you to relax or stay calm? More often than not, you begin to percolate. Trying to hold it together and stay calm? Not an easy feat.

Sailors would post a potato thrower on the bow and stern of their ships who would chuck potatoes into the water to create ripples so a trace of the horizon would appear, generating a feeling of normality (Not fucking normalicy! ...that's not a word!).

Slowly but surely, sailors would then lose it and that would often times coincide with the massive storms that would, naturally, begin to form as the water temperature rose to meet the air temp.

When the sea and air begin to resemble each other too much, the natural progression creates a colossal. (much like some relationships that I've been in). Each side must have their own identity. If they begin to mirror each other too much, troubles brew. Violent and unpredictable storms replace the calm and put sailors into a new challenging position.

We're in the Doldrums right now. Toss some potatoes out into the water and try not to throw them at each other. Keeping it together is a must because a storm might follow, but this too will pass.

Trust yourself, trust your crew, trust your ship, toss Neptune some shiny things and give thanks because we must do this for we will be stronger and wiser. Much love.

Here's some Flaming Lips:

"Do you realize that you have the most beautiful face ...

You realize the sun doesn't go down It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round ... etc" ,,, Flaming Lips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPXWt2ESxVY

The Official National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) definition:

Known to sailors around the world as the doldrums, the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, (ITCZ, pronounced and sometimes referred to as the “itch”), is a belt around the Earth extending approximately five degrees north and south of the equator.

Here, the prevailing trade winds of the northern hemisphere blow to the southwest and collide with the southern hemisphere’s driving northeast trade winds. Due to intense solar heating near the equator, the warm, moist air is forced up into the atmosphere like a hot air balloon.

As the air rises, it cools, causing persistent bands of showers and storms around the Earth’s midsection. The rising air mass finally subsides in what is known as the horse latitudes, where the air moves downward toward Earth’s surface. Because the air circulates in an upward direction, there is often little surface wind in the ITCZ.

That is why sailors well know that the area can becalm sailing ships for weeks.

And that’s why they call it the doldrums.

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