The Teleri, especially those who had lingered on the shores of Middle-earth, had a special reverence for Ossë, one of the Maiar of the Sea. While they remained on the Hither Shore he had befriended and instructed them. Many of these people later departed across the Great Sea, carried aboard the island of Tol Eressëa by Ulmo the Lord of Waters. Ossë followed behind as they travelled, and before the Elves reached the shores of Aman, they asked Ulmo to stay their journey and leave them aboard the island amid the waters of the Bay of Eldamar. It was Ossë, at his master Ulmo's command, who secured the island to the ocean floor, and there it remained.

From that time the Teleri of Eressëa had a special regard for these two Ainur: the great Vala Ulmo and has follower Ossë, who together they called the Lords of the Sea. The Elves dwelt for an age on their Lonely Isle, but at last they felt a desire to travel to go on westward and see the Light of the Trees. Once again the Lords of the Sea came to their aid, and at Ulmo's instruction, Ossë taught them the craft of ship-building and drew their vessels across the Bay to the shores of Aman itself.