The Crest of the Wave: Adventures in Oceanography by Bascom, Willard (1990) Paperback

by Willard Bascom

The author looks back on his career as an oceanographer, describes how the study of the world's oceans has changed since World War II, and depicts the excitement of studying the sea

Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memoirs of a pioneering oceanographer, who did a lot of other things too. He was educated as a mining engineer, and moved to California in 1945, where he was offered a job surveying waves and beaches in northern California. The project's principal tool was war-surplus DUKWs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DUKW , awkward-looking amphibious trucks that turned out to be capable of surfing the large winter Pacific waves, with care (and luck). He has dramatic photos! He was young, single and thought he was immortal then. And he got a taste for oceanography, a then-new science that became his lifetime profession. With some interesting detours. One was developing the first drillship for deepwater drilling offshore, on a borrowed shallow-water oil-drilling barge around 1959. Bascom lived in Monterey then, above Cannery Row, and got to know both Steinbeck and Ed (Doc) Ricketts. He invited Steinbeck along on the maiden voyage of the CUSS-1 drillship, which Steinbeck memorably described as having “the sleek lines of an outhouse standing on a garbage scow.” See https://www.facebook.com/norwellEDGE/... Steinbeck had a point! The tests were successful, and indirectly led to the very successful later voyages of the Glomar Challenger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glomar_... For one of its most significant discoveries, I recommend geologist Kenneth Hsu’s “The Mediterranean Was A Desert.”

Besides doing interesting science and spending a lot of time on and in salt water, Bascom married well, made good friends, traveled, and had a good, lighthearted attitude towards life. He concludes his book with this coda: “May you have as much fun as I did!” — and I will conclude my review with an incident in San Juan P.R., where he and a friend had a few drinks in a waterfront bar. Things got a little too lively -- they had to crawl out under the tables. His friend returned to DC the next day, and chanced to see Bascom’s wife the next night. “Have you seen Willard?” she asked. “Not since the fight started in the whorehouse,” he replied, insuring an “extra warm reception” when he got home. “That’s what friends are for,” Bascom remarks.

I liked this book a lot. 4.5 stars, rounded up. Highly recommended if you like this sort of thing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willard... has some details of his life and career.
And I strongly recommend his "Waves and Beaches." By far the best book I've seen on that topic. A copy should be on the bookshelf of every coast-dweller!

[jrendocrine at least reading is good · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an interesting book that leaves me with mixed feelings, and eventually a little resentful.

It starts as a charming tale of Bascom (tall dark and handsome, the pictures are great) in post WWII period transitioning from engineering mines to studying waves off the west coast. As his knowledge grows, and oceanography - with the efforts of many of his engineering pals - becomes a force, we hear lots of hard physical science. If you like pipes and oscilloscopes and drilling, this is a great start.

But one starts to get the idea that maybe Bascom isn’t a man for the 21st century. I started to be concerned when he and his buddies (exactly zero women in this crowd) were making ocean measurements during the many atomic bomb tests in the south seas employed by the military. While interesting, there was not even a shred of confusion regarding the displaced peoples on the islands - not to mention the ecological consequences on the islands and in the seas. It’s pretty much downhill from there - he goes off sea drilling for diamonds on the eastern coast of South Africa, and there is a clear disconnection with dangers/deaths of native - read black Africans. He becomes an administrator and businessman.

I am reluctant to judge people from previous eras, but the Science here is sketchy. It is hard to be at all sanguine about his last chapter, where Bascom is absolutely positive that science says Men cannot pollute the deep oceans. Here is a quote (and I've picked one that shows he is thoughtful... I guess): "A way must be found to replace environmental decisions based on imagined problems and alleged damage with ones based on scientific findings and common sense. ... Whatever problems of pollution exist in inland bays and estuaries should certainly be fixed, but confusing these with the virtually unpolluted ocean is not of benefit to anyone."

This is a sad look for a scientist. Scientists should always be aware that they know little, and a new conception is around the corner.

[Micheal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic Oceanography.

[Gus Lackner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gilded adventure through the 20th century American scientific world so fantastical it feels like fiction