Beachcombing
Encyclopedia
Beachcombing and beachcomber are words with multiple, but related, meanings that have evolved over time.
A beachcomber is someone who "combs" (or searches) the beach, and the intertidal zone
in general, looking for things of value, interest or utility.
's Omoo
(1847). It described a population of Europeans who lived in South Pacific
islands, "combing" the beach and nearby water for flotsam, jetsam
, or anything else they could use or trade. When a beachcomber became totally dependent upon coastal fishing
for his sustenance
, or abandoned his original culture
and set of values, then the term "beachcomber" was synonymous with a criminal, a drifter, or a bum
. The vast majority of beachcombers however, were simply unemployed sailors like Herman Melville
in Typee
, or Harry Franck in the book Vagabonding Around the World.
After enduring a voyage of danger and hardship, it was not uncommon for a few whalemen to desert a ship when it arrived in Tahiti
or the Marquesas and reside, at least for a while, in the South Sea islands of Polynesia
. If another beachcomber was ready to take his place in order to get home, the captain might let the disgruntled crewman
go; otherwise, the captain would offer the natives a reward to find and return the deserter, and deduct the reward, plus interest, from the deserter's pay.
In other words, the deserter, if caught, would end up working the entire voyage for no pay at all, or even return home in debt to his employers. In Typee
, Melville deserted, not once but twice, before signing on as a crewman on a Navy frigate
, without fear of repercussions.
Some beachcombers traded between local tribe
s, and between tribes and visiting ships. Some lived on the rewards for deserters, or found replacement crewmen either through persuasion or through shanghaiing
. Many, such as David Whippey, also served as mediator
s between hostile native tribes as well as between natives and visiting ships. Whippey deserted his ship in 1820 and lived among the cannibal Fiji
s for the rest of his life. The Fijis would sometimes capture the crew of a stranded ship for ransom, and eat them if they resisted. Whippey would try to rescue them but sometimes found only roasted bones. Ultimately he became British Consul
to Fiji, and left many descendant
s among the islands.
There had always been a small number of castaway
s in the South Pacific
since the earliest Spanish explorers, but the numbers increased dramatically in the early 19th century as the pre-requisite for a beachcombing in the Pacific was the era of whaling which began about 1819. It is estimated that 75% of beachcombers were sailors, particularly whalemen, who had jumped ship, predominantly British but with an increasing number of Americans, particularly in Hawaii and the Carolines; perhaps 20% were English convicts who had been transported to Australia
and escaped from the penal colonies there.
It is estimated that in 1850 there were over 2,000 beachcombers throughout Polynesia
and Micronesia
.The Polynesia and Melanesia communities were usually receptive to beachcombers and castaways who were absorbed into the local community, usually by formal adoption or by marriage, with the beachcombers and castaways often being considered a status symbol of the local chief. The social and commercial role of beachcombers ended when missionaries arrived and with the growth of a commercial community with European (palagi
) traders, resident on each island, that were the representative of trading companies. Many beachcombers made the transition to become island traders.
, the term has been naturalized into the Spanish
form Bichicóme, and refers to poor or lower-class people. The Spanish form also draws on the similarities to the Spanish bicho (small animal) and comer (eat),
Similarly, the term has entered the Greek
slang
through sailors, the word "pitsikómis" (πιτσικόμης).
the beachcombing lifestyle is associated with coastal shell-middens that sometimes accumulate over many hundreds if not thousands of years. Evidence at Klasies River Caves
in South Africa
, and Gulf of Zula
in Eritrea
, show that a beachcombing option is one of the earliest activities separating anatomically modern human homo sapiens from the ancestral subspecies of homo erectus
.
s of every kind, fossil
s, pottery shards, historical artifacts, sea beans (drift seed
s), sea glass
(beach glass) and driftwood
. Items such as lumber, plastics, and all manner of things that have been lost or discarded by seagoing vessels will be collected by some beachcombers, as long as the items are either decorative or useful in some way to the collector. (However, this usually does not include the great bulk of marine debris
, most of which is neither useful nor decorative.)
Today, many people beachcomb for beach treasures and also because the activity offers them a natural prescription to achieve better emotional, physical and spiritual health.
Sophisticated recreational beachcombers use knowledge of how storms, geography, ocean currents, and seasonal events determine the arrival and exposure of rare finds. They also practice eco-conservation and do not kill mollusks for their shells, dig holes in the sand, or gouge cliff faces for fossils or reefs for coral specimens. Many beachcombers serve as excellent stewards of the seashore, working with government agencies to monitor shore erosion, dumping and pollution, and reef and cliff damage, etc.
Recognized beachcomb experts today include oceanographer Dr. Curtis Ebbemeyer (Flotsametrics and the Floating World); eco-educator Dr. Deacon Ritterbush (A Beachcomber’s Odyssey); sea glass experts Richard LaMotte (Pure Sea Glass) and C.S. Lambert (Sea Glass Chronicles); geologist Margaret Carruthers (Beach Stones); shell specialists Chuck and Debbie Robinson (The Art of Shelling), and zoologist Dr. Blair Witherington and Dawn Witherington, (Florida's Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber).
’s passion for beachcombing on the coast of Cornwall
, UK.
A popular Canadian
family television drama, The Beachcombers
, focused on the work of beachcombers in late-twentieth-century British Columbia
.
A beachcomber is someone who "combs" (or searches) the beach, and the intertidal zone
Intertidal zone
The intertidal zone is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide . This area can include many different types of habitats, with many types of animals like starfish, sea urchins, and some species of coral...
in general, looking for things of value, interest or utility.
Historical usage
The first appearance of the word "beachcombers" in print was in Herman MelvilleHerman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
's Omoo
Omoo
Omoo: A Narrative of the South Seas is Herman Melville's sequel to Typee, and, as such, was also autobiographical. After leaving Nuku Hiva, the main character ships aboard a whaling vessel which makes its way to Tahiti, after which there is a mutiny and the majority of the crew are imprisoned on...
(1847). It described a population of Europeans who lived in South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
islands, "combing" the beach and nearby water for flotsam, jetsam
Flotsam and jetsam
In maritime law, flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict describe specific kinds of wreck.The words have specific nautical meanings, with legal consequences in the law of admiralty and marine salvage....
, or anything else they could use or trade. When a beachcomber became totally dependent upon coastal fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
for his sustenance
Sustenance
Sustenance can refer to any means of subsistence or livelihood within a region or a country;*food*any subsistence economy: see list of subsistence techniques**hunting-gathering**animal husbandry**subsistence agriculture...
, or abandoned his original culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
and set of values, then the term "beachcomber" was synonymous with a criminal, a drifter, or a bum
Hobo
A hobo is a term which is often applied to a migratory worker or homeless vagabond, often penniless. The term originated in the Western—probably Northwestern—United States during the last decade of the 19th century. Unlike 'tramps', who work only when they are forced to, and 'bums', who do not...
. The vast majority of beachcombers however, were simply unemployed sailors like Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
in Typee
Typee
Typee is American writer Herman Melville's first book, a classic in the literature of travel and adventure partly based on his actual experiences as a captive on the island Nuku Hiva in the South Pacific Marquesas Islands, in 1842...
, or Harry Franck in the book Vagabonding Around the World.
After enduring a voyage of danger and hardship, it was not uncommon for a few whalemen to desert a ship when it arrived in Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
or the Marquesas and reside, at least for a while, in the South Sea islands of Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
. If another beachcomber was ready to take his place in order to get home, the captain might let the disgruntled crewman
Crewman
Crewman is a generic term for a crew member of an aircraft, naval vessel, military unit, or team of professionals attempting to accomplish a goal. In some science fiction , Crewman is the lowest military rank on board a spacecraft.The term "Crewman" may also be related in the non-gender specific...
go; otherwise, the captain would offer the natives a reward to find and return the deserter, and deduct the reward, plus interest, from the deserter's pay.
In other words, the deserter, if caught, would end up working the entire voyage for no pay at all, or even return home in debt to his employers. In Typee
Typee
Typee is American writer Herman Melville's first book, a classic in the literature of travel and adventure partly based on his actual experiences as a captive on the island Nuku Hiva in the South Pacific Marquesas Islands, in 1842...
, Melville deserted, not once but twice, before signing on as a crewman on a Navy frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
, without fear of repercussions.
Some beachcombers traded between local tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s, and between tribes and visiting ships. Some lived on the rewards for deserters, or found replacement crewmen either through persuasion or through shanghaiing
Shanghaiing
Shanghaiing refers to the practice of conscripting men as sailors by coercive techniques such as trickery, intimidation, or violence. Those engaged in this form of kidnapping were known as crimps. Until 1915, unfree labor was widely used aboard American merchant ships...
. Many, such as David Whippey, also served as mediator
Mediation
Mediation, as used in law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution , a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties. A third party, the mediator, assists the parties to negotiate their own settlement...
s between hostile native tribes as well as between natives and visiting ships. Whippey deserted his ship in 1820 and lived among the cannibal Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
s for the rest of his life. The Fijis would sometimes capture the crew of a stranded ship for ransom, and eat them if they resisted. Whippey would try to rescue them but sometimes found only roasted bones. Ultimately he became British Consul
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
to Fiji, and left many descendant
Lineal descendant
A lineal descendant, in legal usage, refers to a blood relative in the direct line of descent. The children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc...
s among the islands.
There had always been a small number of castaway
Castaway
A castaway is a person who is cast adrift or ashore. While the situation usually happens after a shipwreck, some people voluntarily stay behind on a deserted island, either to evade their captors or the world in general. Alternatively, a person or item can be cast away, meaning rejected or discarded...
s in the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
since the earliest Spanish explorers, but the numbers increased dramatically in the early 19th century as the pre-requisite for a beachcombing in the Pacific was the era of whaling which began about 1819. It is estimated that 75% of beachcombers were sailors, particularly whalemen, who had jumped ship, predominantly British but with an increasing number of Americans, particularly in Hawaii and the Carolines; perhaps 20% were English convicts who had been transported to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and escaped from the penal colonies there.
It is estimated that in 1850 there were over 2,000 beachcombers throughout Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
and Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
.The Polynesia and Melanesia communities were usually receptive to beachcombers and castaways who were absorbed into the local community, usually by formal adoption or by marriage, with the beachcombers and castaways often being considered a status symbol of the local chief. The social and commercial role of beachcombers ended when missionaries arrived and with the growth of a commercial community with European (palagi
Palagi
Palagi or papaalagi is a term in Samoan culture of uncertain meaning, but sometimes used to describe foreigners or anything that does not 'belong' to Samoan culture...
) traders, resident on each island, that were the representative of trading companies. Many beachcombers made the transition to become island traders.
Other languages
In UruguayUruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, the term has been naturalized into the Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
form Bichicóme, and refers to poor or lower-class people. The Spanish form also draws on the similarities to the Spanish bicho (small animal) and comer (eat),
Similarly, the term has entered the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
through sailors, the word "pitsikómis" (πιτσικόμης).
Archaeology
In archaeologyArchaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
the beachcombing lifestyle is associated with coastal shell-middens that sometimes accumulate over many hundreds if not thousands of years. Evidence at Klasies River Caves
Klasies River Caves
The Klasies River Caves are a series of caves located to the east of the Klasies River mouth on the Tsitsikamma coast in the Humansdorp district of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The three main caves and two shelters at the base of a high cliff have revealed evidence of middle stone...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and Gulf of Zula
Gulf of Zula
The Gulf of Zula, also known in various accounts as Annesley Bay, the Bay of Arafali , or the Gulf of Arafali, is a body of water on the Eritrean coastline on the Red Sea, located at ....
in Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
, show that a beachcombing option is one of the earliest activities separating anatomically modern human homo sapiens from the ancestral subspecies of homo erectus
Homo erectus
Homo erectus is an extinct species of hominid that lived from the end of the Pliocene epoch to the later Pleistocene, about . The species originated in Africa and spread as far as India, China and Java. There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...
.
Modern usage
Many modern beachcombers follow the "drift lines" or "tide lines" on the beach and are interested in the (mostly natural) objects that the sea casts up. For these people, "beachcombing" is the recreational activity of looking for and finding various curiosities that have washed in with the tide: seashellSeashell
A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer created by an animal that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washed up on beaches by beachcombers...
s of every kind, fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s, pottery shards, historical artifacts, sea beans (drift seed
Drift seed
Drift seeds and drift fruits are seeds and fruits adapted for long distance dispersal by water. Most are produced by tropical trees, and they can be found on distant beaches after drifting thousands of miles through ocean currents...
s), sea glass
Sea glass
Sea glass is glass found on beaches along oceans, bays, rivers, gullies or large lakes that has been tumbled and smoothed by the waves, water and sand, creating smooth, frosted shards of glass....
(beach glass) and driftwood
Driftwood
Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea or river by the action of winds, tides, waves or man. It is a form of marine debris or tidewrack....
. Items such as lumber, plastics, and all manner of things that have been lost or discarded by seagoing vessels will be collected by some beachcombers, as long as the items are either decorative or useful in some way to the collector. (However, this usually does not include the great bulk of marine debris
Marine debris
Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human created waste that has deliberately or accidentally become afloat in a lake, sea, ocean or waterway. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the centre of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter or...
, most of which is neither useful nor decorative.)
Today, many people beachcomb for beach treasures and also because the activity offers them a natural prescription to achieve better emotional, physical and spiritual health.
Sophisticated recreational beachcombers use knowledge of how storms, geography, ocean currents, and seasonal events determine the arrival and exposure of rare finds. They also practice eco-conservation and do not kill mollusks for their shells, dig holes in the sand, or gouge cliff faces for fossils or reefs for coral specimens. Many beachcombers serve as excellent stewards of the seashore, working with government agencies to monitor shore erosion, dumping and pollution, and reef and cliff damage, etc.
Recognized beachcomb experts today include oceanographer Dr. Curtis Ebbemeyer (Flotsametrics and the Floating World); eco-educator Dr. Deacon Ritterbush (A Beachcomber’s Odyssey); sea glass experts Richard LaMotte (Pure Sea Glass) and C.S. Lambert (Sea Glass Chronicles); geologist Margaret Carruthers (Beach Stones); shell specialists Chuck and Debbie Robinson (The Art of Shelling), and zoologist Dr. Blair Witherington and Dawn Witherington, (Florida's Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber).
In films and television
Both the recreational and utilitarian aspects of beachcombing or “wrecking” were celebrated in the film The Wrecking Season, an award-winning film that portrays playwright Nick DarkeNick Darke
Nick Darke born Nicholas Temperley Watson Darke was best known as playwright but was also a writer, poet, lobster fisherman, environmentalist, beachcomber, politician, broadcaster, film-maker and chairman of St Eval Parish Council.-Life and writings:Nick Darke was born at St Eval, near Padstow in...
’s passion for beachcombing on the coast of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, UK.
A popular Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
family television drama, The Beachcombers
The Beachcombers
The Beachcombers is a Canadian comedy-drama television series that ran from October 1, 1972 to December 12, 1990 and is the longest-running dramatic series ever made for English-language Canadian television...
, focused on the work of beachcombers in late-twentieth-century British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.