Swell

Long, rolling waves from distant weather, arriving with power the local wind did not make.

Swell is old wind: waves generated by storms far offshore that outlive them and travel in ordered ranks. At sea a long swell is comfortable; where it meets shallow water it slows, stands up and breaks, which is why inlets and bars turn white when the ocean beyond looks lazy.

The period, seconds between crests, is the tell: long-period swell carries far more energy than its height suggests. Six feet at twelve seconds humbling an inlet is no contradiction.

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Put the words to work

Vocabulary is easier at the helm.

The free South Carolina boater safety course teaches all of this in twelve chapters with a sixty question practice exam, and when you are ready for the water itself, one form gets you rental quotes from local operators.

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