ABSTRACT
This passage articulates both the difficulty of orientation and that of representation. The swimmer is, literally speaking, in the absolute situation of being alone on the open sea (even torn away from his boat), a point on the fragile line that separates sea and sky, water and air, life and death,5 a point which is compared to the needle of a compass trying to find either or both: position and direction. The situation of the maritime, modern subject is combined with the scientific problem of mapping something - the ocean - which does not - in the form of landmarks, coastlines, etc. - yield to any visible shape or trace. It seems as if writing the ocean can only claim a virtual reality.
