http://www.lostinthepond.com/2014/02/197-english-place-names-americans-might.html?m=1#.VWVmg0aWTRb
197 English Place Names Americans Might Have a Hard Time Pronouncing
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This page is a guide you can use to impress the locals, who would no doubt be surprised to hear anyone - much less an American - pronouncing the name of their town or city correctly. Furthermore, you can use it simply just to blow your mind.
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I have never heard  'the pond'  as meaning Britain.  Â
Was it an  American or Englishman  who  first called the ocean that?  It  sure sounds like a straight faced expression by an English gentleman.
My guess is that the writer is referring to his expatriate status by using the "lost in the pond" wording.
"The pond" as a joking reference to the Atlantic as well as the Pacific seems to date from the mid-1800s
and also may be originally British in origin. I know the phrase but would probably not use it except in
in a joking manner.
I have visited venues where there were references to "leftpondia" and "rightpondia", referring to the Atlantic.
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For some reason Californians refer to Oregon and Washington as being "North Coast" which is confusing. Ohio does has a North Coast, but Oregon and Washington are West Coast.