Sea 03 : (1) The ocean in general. (2) The individual undulations (rolls) of the surface are called waves, but as a whole they are referred to as seas. Also, a ship takes a big sea, not a wave, over the bow
Compass (The National Training Portal of The U. S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps), appendix I, Glossary, VA, USA 2012. http://compass.seacadets.org/pdf/nrtc/bmr/14325_in d.pdf, (Mrtm/Nav - Amer) {558}