how do you understand when hemingway talks about the sea as feminine

The Old Man saw his relationship with the sea much like how he views women,

"But the old man always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favors, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought."

The Old Man saw the sea as moody, mysterious and almost sensual.