Nuances of Simplicity

Despite Being Small, Half Baths Can Be Distinctive

Materials and color selections were chosen to tie together the basin, cabinet hardware, co unter top, faucet, mirror and pedestal. Silent Rivers Design Build chose a color palette that would give the bathroom a warm feel and highlight the existing brick floor in the bathroom.All bath fixtures were manufactured by Kohler. They include the DemiLav Wading Pool lavatory sink, Saile elongated one-piece toilet with dual-flush technology and Symbol Tall single- control lavatory faucet.Silent Rivers Design Build custom crafted riftsawn oak cabinetry for the vanity. The drawers were arranged to fit tightly against the pedestal and minimize their appearance. The team carefully designed the Si les tone yellow Nile leather co un ter top (manufactured by Cosentino USA) to ensure a flush installation around the pedestal. To maintain the clean lines of the vanity, the mirror was recessed behind 1/4-inch dry wall.Waukee, Iowa, Half BathSilent Rivers Design Build was invited back to a home it previously had remodeled to remo del a half bath. The homeowners wanted the half bath to honor the home's natural lines and Asian-influenced d�cor. The team incorporated a vessel sink on a pedestal, which was inspired by the homeowners' favorite vase. The sink provides a sculptural centerpiece to the room. Custom cabinetry was constructed to increase storage space while matching the tapered angle of the pedestal and providing discreet access to plumbing connections.THE IDEATHE MATERIALSSilent Rivers Design Build, Clive, Iowa, SilentRivers.comDo you have an inspirational single element from a recent remodel to share? If so, send it to Jon.Minnick@cyqnusb2b.com.THE REMODELER

Do you have an inspirational single element from a recent remodel to share? If so, send it to Jon.Minnick@cyqnusb2b.com.

Troubled Waters

A small film of oil can have a calming effect.

So the next time you're out at sea, know that the captain is not pulling a na�ve tribologist's leg when he says the seas are getting rough and suggests lubricating them.For the wave to break now, the tensions of the surfaces separating the air from oil and oil from air must also be broken, and that takes a little over 70% of the energy of the tension between air and water. There is a further loss of about 80% of the remaining energy once a layer of water gfides over a layer of oily water and they must re-sort themselves according to density.The container was then towed from the bow on the side of the ship facing the rough weather. This side was always referred to as the weather bow, and to say that one was 'under the weather bow' was to imply a very gloomy prospect. The expression has since been truncated to remove the nautical reference, but I think we can all appreciate now why feeling ill is referred to as feeling under the weather.One of my favorite pastimes is reading historical nan-fiction dealing with the early exploration of new lands, particularly the Antarctic. A common setback these explorers faced far before they arrived in the unchartered waters came in the form of hurricanes. Hurricanes brought about the large winds that cause massive waves that could either extensively damage or sink the ship. Trying to survive this onslaught in a relatively small vessel, several days sailing distance from the nearest shore, took an iron will, a strong ship, a stout crew and a small container of oil.In other words, the oil is behaving like a barrier preventing contact between the air and the water. And since Leonardo da Vinci defined a lubricant as "all things and everything whatsoever, however thin it be, which is interposed in the middle between objects that rub together, lighten[ing] the difficulty of their friction," this film of oil qualifies as a lubricant.The oil that was commonly used was olive oil, cod liver oil or whale oil, and it was metered out by using either an oil-filled bucket with a small hole in it, or a canvas bag filled with oil-soaked oakum.The oil spreads across the water due to surface tension. The tension of the surface separating air from water is about 40% greater than the sum of the tensions of the surfaces separating air from oil and oil from water, therefore the oil spreads on the surface of the water.Evan Zabawski, CL5, is manager of training and education services for The Fluid Life Corp. in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. You can reach him at evan@fluidlife.com.To understand how oil calms the waves, we must first learn how waves are formed. Waves form when the water moves and creates ripples, then the ripples give the wind some grip (tractive force) and the ripples grow into wavelets. Once wavelets are high enough, the wind becomes turbulent and starts transferring its energy to the waves. The rougher the water, the easier it is for the wind to transfer its energy.Once a wave gains height, the passage of air imparts its velocity to the top, or crest, of the wave, yet the velocity is resisted in the lower masses, or trough, due to inertia. Eventually the crest travels faster than the trough and the wave curls over and breaks, It is in the breaking of waves that oil finds its field of action.The effect of releasing the oil onto the surface of the sea is almost immediate and rather amazing. The crests of waves will cease breaking, the bilge pumps start gaining, and the decks begin drying out. With the usage typically amounting to only half a gallon per hour, it was not difficult for ships to overcome several days of continuous storm without significantly depleting their supply.

Evan Zabawski, CL5, is manager of training and education services for The Fluid Life Corp. in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. You can reach him at evan@fluidlife.com.

KAISER'S COFFINS: The Sinking of the Escort Carrier St. Lo

Superstition persisted and from the moment her name was changed from USS Midway to St. Lo, she fulfilled every dire prediction that she was to be an unlucky ship

WERE KAISER'S COFFINS" ANY WORSE THAN MOST WAR-BUILT SHIPS?Almost from her inception some form of bad luck seemed to plague the St. Lo, nee Midway, nee Chapin Bay. Laid down 23 January 1943, first bureaucratic meddling and then a shipyard labor strike threatened serious delays in her assembly. At last well on her way toward taking shape, in early April she was renamed USS Midway. Another ill omen of the sea occurred on 17 August 1943, as CVE-63 saw a yard worker fatally injured when he fell from construction scaffolding as she slid down the ways during her launching. Commissioned USS Midway on 23 October 1943, the spanking new carrier soon embarked on sea trials in Puget Sound with Capt. F.J. McKenna commanding her newly mustered crew. As was common with the breaking in of most new escort carriers, her shakedown cruise was followed by two quick round robin transits to Pearl Harbor and one to Australia as an aircraft ferry.The first such vessels to be designed and constructed from the keel up as bantam-sized aircraft carriers, these thin-hulled 7800-ton escorts were the inspiration of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser who, almost on a dare with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, boasted he could employ the same mass production pre-fabricated building techniques pioneered with his Liberty Ships to construct 50 cheap warships in record six-months' time. Enjoying much renown for his "can do" resourcefulness, Kaiser was given the green light to build from scratch the shipyard that would see these 512-ft floating airfields remarkably join the wartime fleet in a matter of months, not years. Making this challenge even more demanding was the fact that no steam engines existed to power the new carrier. This problem was solved by a clever redesign of the much disliked but easy to build Skinner Uniflow steam engine of 1912 origin. By devising special lubrication means to correct the engine's boiler feed water shortcomings, Kaiser's engineers evolved and built a reliable 11,000shp powerplant that could propel his maverick twinscrew carrier at more than 19-kts.While Washington politics and acute labor shortages served to slow down the initial building program, Kaiser's new shipyard defied the skeptics and was m full production only a few months late. Quickly making up for lost time, and in some cases meeting production deliveries ahead of time, Kaiser's prodigious feat saw class leader Casablanca (CVE-55) launched on 5 April 1943, and the 50th carrier - USS Munda (CVE-104) - slide down the ways 8 June 1944. In an astonishing regimen of 14-months of round-theclock cutting, welding, and outfitting, 50 aircraft carriers were launched at a rate of nearly four per month, or almost one per week! Remarkably, 18 were in commission by Christmas 1943.In fairness to Kaiser, it must be stressed that the escort carrier as a Naval concept was never intended to battle enemy surface warships; that with a single 5-in/38-cal sternmounted dual-purpose gun their puny armament of 16 40mm Bofors primarily focused on antiaircraft defense. As with all war-built vessels produced at a frantic pace, there was no time or budget for frills or niceties. Conceived on an emergency basis as were the war's destroyerescorte, auxiliaries, and amphibious fleets, the Kaiser carriers were created to perform a single task - launch planes to sink U-boats.While they could carry 28 aircraft and had two deck elevators to shift aircraft, the Casablancas, like all CVEs, were limited to the type of aircraft they could safely accommodate. After much trial and error it was agreed the specially modified General Motors-built FM-2 Wildcat adapted from Grumman's stubby F4F fighter well suited CVE flight deck geometries. Likewise, the Wildcat's big-sister TBM-IC Avenger torpedo bomber was, despite its 6ton girth, comfortable with the CVE's postage-stamp-sized flight deck. Lacking folding wings, the equally combat-proven Douglas SBD Dauntless was too difficult to handle in the confined spaces CVE crews were forced to deal with. As a result, the FM-2 and TBM became standard issue aircraft for all escort carriers.To meet this incredible delivery schedule, "Kaiser's Coffins" were of necessity better engineered for mass production than survival in battle. In the strictest sense they indeed were not warships at all, but highly modified Maritime Commission S4-S2BB3 merchant hulls designed for Kaiser by the noted Naval architects Gibbs & Cox. Working wonders within limited amounts of space, the designers transformed Kaiser's mass production dictates into utilitarian 19kt aircraft carriers. Totally devoid of any armored spaces that might sustain modest bomb or torpedo damage, as in the larger Esser-class fleet carriers, the Kaiser-built ships gained early notoriety as flimsily-built vessels. Welds were said to be "tacked" rather than fully beaded; a situation that saw shipyard workers often still aboard even as the oemmissioned ships embarked on sea trials.As if Si. Lo's name changes alone wasn't enough to bedevil crusty old salts, her brief existence was dogged by many minor misfortunes, as if the vicissitudes of an unkind fate early marked her for extinction; a ship seemingly cursed from the moment her keel was laid. To begin with St. Lo had the dubious distinction of being one of "Kaiser's Coffins," a rather cryptic wartime appellation applied to 50 escort carriers built in record time by Kaiser Shipbuilding at Vancouver, Washington.There's an old seafaring superstition that changing a ship's name curses her with bad luck. Though countless vessels have had their names changed through the ages, it can well be argued that few suffered fates which gave much credence to the old superstition. Unfortunately, the USS St. Lo (CVE-63) was not one of those many exceptions. In fact, she would be doubly anathematized, for this gallant warship had her name changed twice before she met her most premature and tragic end.Laid down as the Chapin Bay in June 1943, CVE-63 was soon renamed and commissioned USS Midway in. honor of the famed Pacific battle. Having ordained that American "Bays" were not inspiring enough names for Henry J. Kaiser's carriers, President Roosevelt decided that several would be renamed for World War II battle sites. Hence, among more than a dozen others under FDR's personal direction Aiazon .Bay (C VE-55) became class leader Casablanca, and Anguilla Bay (CVE-58) became USS Corregidor. However, upon further consideration, FDR deemed the pivotal victory at Midway was worthy of considerably more distinction than a mere escort carrier could convey. As a result, the name Midway was assigned to one of the trio of giant new 45,000-ton supercarriers then under construction. Meanwhile, by 1943 the war in Europe was breeding victory after victory, so rather than return CVE-63 back to her original "Bay" identity she became USS St. Lo (CVE-63) in honor ofthat bloody American victory on the Normandy battleground.As the Atlantic War unfolded, by the time most of Henry J1S carriers were at sea in 1944, Germany's Uboat menace was already in steep decline. Thus, with the exception of the USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60), Kasaan Bay (CVE-69) and Tulagi (CVE-72) which served in the Atlantic, the balance of the new CasaWanca-class vessels joined the Pacific Fleet where they could augment the tremendous number of carrier planes required to support far-ranging amphibious operations.THE HANDIWORK OF PRESIDENT ROOSEVELTENTER "HENRY J"LO. THE ST. LO: A SHIP BY ANY OThER NAME

Almost from her inception some form of bad luck seemed to plague the St. Lo, nee Midway, nee Chapin Bay. Laid down 23 January 1943, first bureaucratic meddling and then a shipyard labor strike threatened serious delays in her assembly. At last well on her way toward taking shape, in early April she was renamed USS Midway. Another ill omen of the sea occurred on 17 August 1943, as CVE-63 saw a yard worker fatally injured when he fell from construction scaffolding as she slid down the ways during her launching. Commissioned USS Midway on 23 October 1943, the spanking new carrier soon embarked on sea trials in Puget Sound with Capt. F.J. McKenna commanding her newly mustered crew. As was common with the breaking in of most new escort carriers, her shakedown cruise was followed by two quick round robin transits to Pearl Harbor and one to Australia as an aircraft ferry.

TAMPICO and the DOLPHIN INCIDENT

A lone gunboat on a peaceful mission nearly plunged the United States into a shooting war with Mexico BY GARY ROBBINS

Within months, she visited the islands of Madeira and Bermuda and had dropped anchor at exotic ports in Japan, Korea, China, Ceylon, India, Arabia, Egypt, Italy, Spain, and England, before arriving at New York City in September 1889 to complete her round-theworld cruise.Built by John Roach & Sons of Chester, Pennsylvania, USS Dolphin (PG-24) was the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the dolphin. She was launched on 12 April 1884, with Capt. R. W. Meade in command. Armed with two rapid-fire breechloading 4-in guns, plus five threepounders, Dolphin became the second Navy ship selected to serve as a Presidential Yacht. With length of 250-ft and a speed of 16-kts, she was officially rated as a gunboat/dispatch vessel capable of executing a multitude of specific Naval chores that existed in the preMorse Code era. Rated at 1500-tons, and with a crew of 150 men and eleven officers, she first commissioned on 8 December 1885, ready to undertake any assignment the Navy might assign her.THE SCANDALOUS TAMPICO AFFAIROut of commission from 1 May 1891 until 14 March 1892, Dolphin then resumed her cruising along the Atlantic coast, often hosting the Secretary of the Navy. On 3 December 1895, she was assigned to the Special Service Squadron and made a surveying expedition to Guatemala in January/February 1896. By then, she had carried President William McKinley and his party to New York for the ceremonies at Grant's Tomb on 23 April 1897. Following that assignment, Dolphin was again placed out of commission at New York in late November 1897."WALK SOFTILY AND CARRYABIGSTICK!": PRE-WORLD WAR ONEThe commander of American forces in the area, R/Adm. Henry T. Mayo, demanded a formal apology from Huerta's government. The commander in the Tampico area complied with this and gave a written apology; however, he did not follow the demands that Mexico raise the United States flag on its soil and provide a 21-gun salute. With that, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for permission for an armed invasion of the area. Although this request was granted two-days later, the United States occupation of Veracruz had already begun.THE INCIDENTFrom 1899 until the outbreak of WWI in Europe, Dolphin served as a special dispatch ship for the SecNav and often earned the President of the United States and other important officials and diplomats in tastefully opulent style. She visited Washington Navy Yard for the Peace Jubilee in June; New York City for the Dewey celebration in September; and Alexandria, Virginia, for the city's sesquicentennial on 10 October. From late 1899 to early February 1900, she cruised to Venezuela to survey the mouth of the Orinoco River. She departed Washington, DC in mid-January 1902 to next survey the coast of Santo Domingo, then carried the Chief of the Bureau of Equipment from Havana for a tour of inspection of the coaling stations in the West Indies, returning to Washington in early May.ACTION IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WARThe Tampico Affair started off as a minor incident involving US sailors and Mexican land forces loyal to Gen. Victoriano Huerta during the guerra de las facciones phase of the Mexican Revolution. The misunderstanding occurred on 9 April 1914, but would fully transpire into the breakdown of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and the occupation of the port city of Veracruz for over six-months.Just as in the recent confrontation between North and South Korea over the accidentale?) sinking of a South Korean gunboat, small warships still have the ability to trigger incidents which threaten to flare into major international crises. The unique status of a warship imbued with special powers of sovereignty is nothing new and, as America learned shortly before the outbreak of World War I, the smallest vessels can trigger * international reaction out of all proportion to the scope of the supposed affront. Take for instance the gunboat Dolphin incident in Tampico Harbor in 1914.As Tampico was laid siege by Constitutionalist forces, relations between US forces and Huerta's federal garrison remained amicable. The American Naval force, limited to a single modest gunboat, the USS Dolphin, due to the navigational constraints of the shallow harbor entrance, presented a 21-gun salute to the Mexican flag three times on 2 April 1914 to pay tribute to the celebrated occupation of Puebla in 1867 by Mexican Gen. Porfirio D�az in the last phases of the French intervention in Mexico.PRESIDENT WILSON INFURIATEDFrom 1903 to 1905 she carried dignitaries like the, Secretary of the Navy, war hero Admiral and Mrs. George Dewey, the Philippine Commissioners, the Attorney General, Prince Louis of Battenberg and his party, and President Theodore Roosevelt on various VIP cruises. Early in August 1905, she carried the Japanese peace plenipotentiaries from Oyster Bay, New York, to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to negotiate the settlement of the Russo-Japanese War. She continued on primarily ceremonial duty, participating in the interment of John Paul Jones at the United States Naval Academy, and the departure ceremonies for the Great White Fleet until 22 October 1908, when she became flagship of the Third Squadron, Atlantic Fleet.AROUND THE WORLD ON A GUNBOAT: PRE-SPANISHAMERICAN WAR SERVICEIn midst of the Mexican Revolution, de facto head of state Victoriano Huerta struggled to hold his power and territory intact from the challenges of Emiliano Zapata in the south and the fast advance of the opposition Constitutionalists of Venustiano Carranza in the north. By 26 March 1914, Carranza's forces were 10-mi from the prosperous oil town of Tampico, Tamaulipas. There was a considerable concentration of US citizens in the area due to the immense investment of American firms in the local oil industry. Several American warships commanded by R/Adm. Henry T. Mayo settled in the area with the responsibility of protecting American citizens and property.A true "Son of a Gun" built for the new steel Navy, the first of her class to be completed, Dolphin was assigned to the North Atlantic Station, cruising along the eastern seaboard until early 1886 when she was ordered to sail around the tip of South America for duty with the Pacific Squadron.In the spring of 1914, as the tensions that would lead to WWI mounted, the Third Squadron - with Dolphin as flagship - sailed into Tampico Bay to protect American lives and property The US Navy frequently used boats to deliver messages and ferry fleeing civilians, depleting fuel supplies. The commander of the USS Dolphin arranged for a pickup of oil from a warehouse on 9 April near a tense defensive position at Iturbide Bridge. The defenders of the bridge anticipated an attack based on the two consecutive days of skirmishes that had immediately preceded. Nine US sailors and a squad of US Marines in a whaleboat flying the US flag were dispatched to the warehouse along a canal. Based on the sailors' account, seven of them moved the cans of fuel to the boat while two remained on the vessel. Mexican federal soldiers were alerted to the activity and confronted the American sailors. Though it wasn't proven, the Mexicans claimed the Marines were drunk and unruly and had insulted several Mexican women. These charges were vehemently denied since all of the American troops had been urged to avoid upsetting the locals who looked with disdain on the American presence. Furthermore, neither side was able to speak the other's language, which left the sailors immobile in the face of commands from the soldiers. The Mexicans raised rifles against the Americans, including the sailors and Marines still on the boat, and ushered the group to the nearby Mexican regimental headquarters.

The commander of American forces in the area, R/Adm. Henry T. Mayo, demanded a formal apology from Huerta's government. The commander in the Tampico area complied with this and gave a written apology; however, he did not follow the demands that Mexico raise the United States flag on its soil and provide a 21-gun salute. With that, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for permission for an armed invasion of the area. Although this request was granted two-days later, the United States occupation of Veracruz had already begun.

Harbor Homes, LLC Responds to Reports of Sinking in Cuba of Barge Carrying Humanitarian Aid to Haiti

It has been reported by the Associated Press that Harbor Homes, LLC suffered the loss of an oceangoing barge on December 1 of last year. Harbor Homes and its Haitian subsidiary PermaShelter S.A. acknowledge the loss of the vessel CIA204 and its approximately $2 million in cargo intended for humanitarian relief in Haiti.

Contact: Matt Williams PermaShelter S.A., a Subsidiary of Harbor Homes, LLC Email Contact U.S. Phone: 229 234 2911 Haiti Phone: 509 3930 2900 More information can be found online at http://www.permashelter.comHarbor Homes subsidiary PermaShelter S.A. is currently building homes in Haiti and has established a major manufacturing operation at Terminal Abraham in Carrefour where it possesses a current manufacturing capacity of 500 homes per week employing nearly 100 Haitian workers. Harbor Homes is establishing a trust account to facilitate the construction of additional homes. Any groups or individuals interested in helping to replace the homes that were lost at sea may send a check to "Houses for Haiti" c/o Thomasville National Bank, 301 North Broad Street, Thomasville, Georgia, 31792.Add to Digg Bookmark with del.icio.us Add to NewsvineImage Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=1573243Lloyd's of London has denied the insurance claim on the humanitarian cargo based upon the age of the tugboat despite a lack of evidence of any kind that the vessel was unfit for the voyage. According to Matthew Batson, Vice President of Harbor Homes, "The vessel had just undergone extensive repairs and upgrades under the direction and supervision of the U.S. Coastguard in Jacksonville, Florida. In cooperation with the owner of the tug Muheet, Harbor Homes assisted in making numerous mechanical repairs to the vessel prior to its departure from Jacksonville, and the U.S. Coastguard declared the vessel seaworthy and permitted it to sail on to its destination in Haiti. We have in our possession signed statements from each crew member that the vessel was seaworthy. Lloyds of London has produced no evidence to the contrary."The Harbor Homes family of companies includes Harbor Homes, LLC, PermaShelter S.A., Intrepid Structures, and Outlast Emergency Products. PermaShelter S.A. is the exclusive distributor of the Concrete MD in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.Harbor Homes was under contract with a major NGO to build 1,000 transitional shelters in Haiti. The materials, supplies, and equipment required to build these homes are a total loss. Despite this setback, Harbor Homes, a major supplier of disaster housing to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, self-financed the construction of 200 homes on the island of La Gonave. Harbor Homes has made every reasonable effort to uphold its commitment to build these homes despite the cancellation of the original contract by USAID and the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) for failure to meet the project deadline as a result of the sinking of the vessel.It is the position of Harbor Homes, LLC that the denial of the insurance claim on the vessel is without basis, and that this denial most adversely affects the roughly five to eight thousand intended occupants of these homes along with the several hundred Haitians who would have been provided meaningful employment through the construction of these transitional shelters. Had it not been for the denial of assistance by the Cuban government, the barge would have been retrieved by the U.S. Coastguard, provided adequate clean fuel to continue its voyage to Haiti, and delivered the much needed humanitarian aid to the Haitian people.

Contact: Matt Williams PermaShelter S.A., a Subsidiary of Harbor Homes, LLC Email Contact U.S. Phone: 229 234 2911 Haiti Phone: 509 3930 2900 More information can be found online at http://www.permashelter.com

Boat is sinking

A FLOATING nightclub's future has been thrown into doubt after it started to sink.

The former Tuxedo Royale floating nightclub attracted thousands of revellers when it was moored on the banks of the Tyne in Gateshead.Its future hangs in the balance as discussions take place over what should be done with the redundant vessel.But now it has started sinking at its current home in Teesside after being hit by a number of vandal attacks.

Its future hangs in the balance as discussions take place over what should be done with the redundant vessel.

THE story of a British battleship built on the Tyne [..]; Film to be made of Tyne-built battleship's Falkland sinking

Byline: ANDREW GLOVER

The Atlantic Conveyor was sunk by an Exocet missile with 12 men losing their lives.The book tells the story of how 19 people died after the ship was sunk.A merchant ship, the Atlantic Conveyor, was also hit by a bombardment on the same day. At the time the Chronicle reported a statement from Ministry of Defence spokesman Ian McDonald.Of the ship's 200 crew, 29 were from the North East.It will be written and directed by Tom Shankland, who made horror film The Children in 2009."And that''s war. You've got to take risks to win."While at war the ship had shot down five fighter bombers and a helicopter and sunk a patrol vessel.CAPTION(S):AUTHOR Capt David Hart Dyke wrote a book AT WAR HMS Coventry sank after it was attacked by Argentinian planes during the Falklands War in May 1982The replacement for HMS Coventry was sold to the Romanian Navy as part of a pounds 116million deal after it was built by workers at Swan Hunter and launched from Wallsend.He said: "HMS Coventry, a destroyer, was hit and has been lost.They later came under attack by four A-4 Skyhawks flying so low they were able to drop their bombs before Coventry's radar system could lock on.HMS Coventry was hit by cannon fire and struck by three of the four bombs dropped."The Atlantic Conveyor, a merchant ship requisitioned to support the Fleet, was also hit and has had to be abandoned."Mr Hart Dyke published his memoir called, Four Days In May, in 2007.Two of the bombs blew out part of her port side and within 20 minutes she had been abandoned and completely capsized.She also controlled a number of Sea Harriers involved in fierce fighting.The film, Destroyer, is based on a book by the ship's commanding officer David Hart Dyke.The adaptation of Mr Hart Dyke's book was announced yesterday at the opening of the Cannes film festival.THE story of a British battleship built on the Tyne and sunk during the Falklands War is to be made into a film.HMS Coventry sank after it was attacked by Argentinian planes in May 1982.Mr Hart Dyke, a former commanding officer of the Royal Yacht Britannia, told a BBC documentary he knew he was taking a risk when ordered to lure enemy bombers away from British troops on land.HMS Coventry, a destroyer, was built on the River Tyne in 1970."I realised why we were doing it," he said.Both HMS Coventry and the Atlantic Conveyor were rebuilt at Tyneside shipyards."If necessary, we were the sacrifice rather than other ships which were more important.

AUTHOR Capt David Hart Dyke wrote a book AT WAR HMS Coventry sank after it was attacked by Argentinian planes during the Falklands War in May 1982

History of very brief conflict

ARGENTINA invaded the Falkland Islands in April 1982 claiming they owned the territory.

Britain lost 255 troops, 655 Argentinian fighters were killed and three islanders lost their lives.After sending thousands of troops, Mrs Thatcher made the controversial order to sink Argentine cruiser the Belgrano, killing 368 men. HMS Sheffield was the first British vessel to be sank as fighting got underway at sea, in the air and on the ground.Keen to keep control of the Falklands, Margaret Thatcher ordered British troops to prepare for war 8,000 miles away.The islands - known to Argentinians as the Malvinas - were largely unknown until the troops advanced.The short but bitter war was declared over on June 20. In total there were 913 deaths in the conflict.

Britain lost 255 troops, 655 Argentinian fighters were killed and three islanders lost their lives.

Missing WWII Sub Found Offshore Florida Keys

An exploration team led by Tim Taylor aboard the expedition vessel RV Tibur�n has located and documented the wreck of the WWII submarine USS R-12.

The R-12 was lost on June 12, 1 943, in 600 feet of water, sinking in less than 15 seconds. The submarine sank nearly 70 years ago, taking 42 U.S. servicemen to their deaths off the coast of the Florida Keys, Florida. Only two officers and three enlisted men survived.

To make the discovery, the team deployed an AUV, which collected the first imagery of the remains of R-1 2. The group is collaborating and sharing their findings with the U.S. Navy. Researchers with Tibur�n said they will return in spring 2012 to investigate the possible causes of the sinking and to collect detailed archeologica! baseline data.

Wrecks appeal: plans to sink warship off Mull for dive hotspot

A BRITISH navy warship is to be sunk off the coast of Scotland under plans to boost marine tourism by creating the country's first artificial reef for divers.

The Sound of Mull is already the resting place of several historic wrecks, including a warship from a fleet sent by Cromwell in the 17th century to capture Duart Castle.Such artificial reefs have been developed in the US, Canada and Australia, but it would be the first in Scotland and the second in Europe."We need more untrammelled seabed in our congested seas, not less, which would underpin the recovery of our seas, providing wider social and economic benefits from food provision to whale watching."Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is to provide funding up to pound(s)35,000 for the venture, which will be officially launched this month.A tender for a feasibility study on the project has been issued by the Sound of Mull Artificial Reef Trust (Smart)."Some of them are internationally endangered species, like the Pink sea fan and Devonshire cup corals, and we have got a lot of commercially important species of fish using the wreck, such as pollock and cod."A spokeswoman for HIE said the community tourism project had been inspired by the success of other artificial reefs like the one created by the sinking of HMS Scylla, sunk off the coast near Plymouth in 2004.A sunken ship helps reefs develop rapidly as it encourages coral to grow and marine life to flourish.The study will look at three sites and the economic and environmental impact of the project, which is being driven by Lochaline Dive Centre in Argyll."We carried out detailed monitoring and after five years the number of species had stabilised, but there has been over 150 species of plant life and animal life recorded from the wreck," he said."This type of artificial reef has been developed in a number of countries including the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Cayman Islands."Now a project spearheaded by a local diving centre is planning to scuttle a decommissioned modern naval vessel to provide a new underwater tourist attraction.The Sound of Mull is one of Scotland's most famous diving spots along with Scapa Flow in Orkney, where the vessels of the German High Seas Fleet were scuttled following the First World War.Gibson said the entire project had cost around pound(s)300,000, including stripping out the vessel to get it ready for sinking and to satisfy environmental considerations.The vessel was bought from the Ministry of Defence for around pound(s)200,000 by the National Marine Aquarium (NMA) in Plymouth, with the assistance of a local economic development agency."Part of the attraction is that it is a modern ship and it is fairly accessible," he said. "At shallow water the top of it is only about six metres underneath the surface and the deepest it gets is 29 metres, so it is well within sports diving depth limits."A study carried out in the first three years after it was sunk found around 10,000 divers were visiting the new wreck every year, bringing pound(s)2 million a year to the local area.She added: "This could bring similar benefits to the west coast and wider Highlands and Islands.He said: "MCS is generally unconvinced of the marine biodiversity benefits of wreck-sinking, since by aggregating individuals of species that are otherwise more widely dispersed they become easier to catch, and by providing a substrate for life that prefers rock to sand, the end result is loss of wild seabed habitat.Dr David Gibson, managing director of the NMA, said it had been "massively successful" in boosting the diversity of marine life and the local economy.However, Calum Duncan, Scotland programme manager at the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), warned a full assessment of the environmental impact would have to be carried out.

"We need more untrammelled seabed in our congested seas, not less, which would underpin the recovery of our seas, providing wider social and economic benefits from food provision to whale watching."

American Terror Victim Files Suit in N.Y. Court to Sink Gaza Flotilla

Unprecedented Civil Suit Filed Today in N.Y. Court to Seize Gaza Flotilla Ships

This is the first lawsuit brought to seize the Gaza Flotilla ships.The suit, Bauer v. The Mavi Marmara, was filed in Manhattan federal court. It seeks to confiscate 14 ships outfitted with funds unlawfully raised in the United States by anti-Israel groups, including The Free Gaza Movement ("FGM"). In May 2010, several of these ships, led by the Turkish vessel the Mavi Marmara, attempted to breach the blockade. The resulting violence caused the deaths of nine militants and injury to numerous Israeli Navy SEALs. A second such flotilla is planned in coming weeks.The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Robert J. Tolchin Esq. of New York, and Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, Esq. of Israel, founder of Israeli human rights group Shurat HaDin (Israel Law Center).The plaintiff, American biologist, Dr. Alan Bauer, who along with his son Jonathan was seriously injured in a Palestinian suicide bombing on March 21, 2002 in Jerusalem, alleges that FGM and other American-based anti-Israel organizations have raised funds in the United States to outfit the Gaza Flotilla ships. The lawsuit contends that furnishing and outfitting the ships, which are being used for hostilities against a U.S. ally, violates American law. The plaintiff rests his claim upon a rarely-utilized "informant" statute (18 U.S.C. section 962) that allows a plaintiff (called an "informer") to privately seize ships outfitted in the United States for use against a U.S. ally.A copy of the complaint is available here:Contact: Suzanne Balaban Email: Suzanne@suzannebalaban.com 212 796 5895 / 011-972-50-811-0348SOURCE Shurat HaDinNEW YORK, June 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An American victim of a Palestinian terror attack today filed an unprecedented lawsuit to seize ships used by Islamic and anti-Israeli organizations to breach Israel's coastal blockade of the Gaza Strip.Attorney Darshan-Leitner said, "We intend to seize the Gaza Flotilla ships and turn them over to a victim of Palestinian terrorism. The extremists organizing these hostile provocations against Israel must not be allowed to illegally raise funds for their operations in the U.S. Escalating attacks on Israel from all directions require new and innovative responses. This unprecedented private action will help block their efforts to breach the coastal blockade and smuggle materials to Hamas in Gaza."http://www.israellawcenter.org/uploadimages/file/1640296317.pdf

SOURCE Shurat HaDin

Caesarstone and Sonobath HYDROS Vessel Sinks Selected for Installation in New Club Nikki/Nikki Beach at Tropicana Las Vegas

As the latest iteration of the world famous Club Nikki/Nikki Beach brings a unique international party style to Tropicana Las Vegas, Caesarstone and Sonobath are there both in spirit and in the form of its stunning Sonobath HYDROS and LOTUS vessels sinks -- with multiple installations within the resort. Handcrafted from Caesarstone Pure White premium quartz, the Sonobath sinks bring a cutting-edge yet timeless element to the stunning design.

Media inquiries: Sonobath: Craig Caldwell 818-981-7363 craig@sonobath.com Caesarstone: Olivia Smith 818-779-0999 Olivia.smith@caesarstoneus.comImage Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=1653180 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=1653184 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=1653178For more information about Sonobath and its products, please go to www.sonobath.com , or call 310/492-4006.The dramatic HYDROS design offers symmetry through asymmetry. The focal point of the elegantly sloping design is its off-center concealed drain system. HYDROS is available with brushed nickel slats or a recessed tray covered in natural river rock. It is Sonobath's most popular model.The sculptural LOTUS sinks start, like all Sonobath vessel sinks, with hand-selected pieces of Caesarstone premium quartz, which is then formed using a special labor-intensive "stone pedal" process to create its exclusive "bent stone" appearance -- with the top left and lower right corners turned approximately 20 degrees. It also features a hidden drain system. Like the lotus plant, which is born of water but not part of it, the entire surface of the LOTUS sink has a light, almost ethereal quality, contrasting the power and weight of the stone surface itself.Caesarstone is the original quartz countertops & surfaces manufacturer. The company is headquartered in Southern California with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Colorado, Miami, New York, Atlanta, St. Louis and Dallas. Caesarstone produces premium quartz countertops & surfaces, complementing any design application, from traditional to contemporary, for both home and commercial applications. Caesarstone products are available through kitchen and bath retailers, fabricators, architects, designers, builders and distributors nationwide. Offering a Residential Lifetime Warranty, Caesarstone countertops and surfaces are nonporous, stain-, scratch- and heat-resistant. Caesarstone has earned the respected Good Housekeeping Seal from the Good Housekeeping Research Institute and is in compliance with stringent international environmental standards including ISO 14001 (environmental management system), ISO 9002 (quality management standard), and NSF (public health and safety). A sustainable material, Caesarstone is GREENGUARD certified and is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). For more information about Caesarstone and its products, please visit the company's website at http://www.caesarstoneus.com , or call toll-free 877-9QUARTZ (877-978-2789)."Nikki Beach is synonymous with the ultimate beach club experience and we're honored to have our sinks included as part of the resort's incredible interior design," says Sonobath founder and designer Jae Omar. "The inspiration for Sonobath sinks comes from the elements of nature, so what better setting for this multi-sink installation than the desert oasis that is Nikki Beach? And, though our designs look like pieces of sculpture, they are first and foremost sinks that can be used everyday and we expect them to receive heavy use in the Nikki Beach resort."About SonobathThe Sonobath line of limited edition vessel sink includes eight models -- ETHOS, HYDROS, CHAOS, MTHOS, TITUS, LOTUS, ZERO and THE RIVER -- each redefining the boundaries between art and design, form and function, structure and romance. Sonobath, from the term "sono" meaning "controlled nature" in Zen practices, is a Southern California-based designer/manufacturer of high-end home bath products. Caesarstone, the pioneer in quartz surfaces, is the exclusive stone supplier. Sonobath sinks are available through architects, interior designers and designated retail kitchen and bath retailers.

Media inquiries: Sonobath: Craig Caldwell 818-981-7363 craig@sonobath.com Caesarstone: Olivia Smith 818-779-0999 Olivia.smith@caesarstoneus.com

Inland Salvage Inc. Completes Wreck Removal Operations of the F/V "Sandy Point" Clearing the Gulfport Ship Channel

GULFPORT, Miss., July 5, 2011 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Inland Salvage Inc. (www.inlandsalvage.com) recently completed the wreck removal of the F/V "Sandy Point" clearing the Gulfport Ship Channel.

"I'm proud to have the skilled personnel we have within our organization. The support of our J/V partner River Salvage Company as well as the support of the USCG was significant in an overall safe and successful operation."The 350 ton bow section containing the crew's accommodations and wheel house were par buckled upright, lifted off the sea floor and placed on a receiver barge which had pre-arranged cribbing specifically calculated by a naval architect and sea fastened for travel. The section was then towed in to the MS State Docks for further USCG investigation and surveys.Inland Salvage Inc.'s policy of going beyond state and federal standards insured the complex verging of events of Gulf Shores National Seashore and the Mississippi coastal community was not adversely impacted by the salvage project. Daily safety and job task meetings were conducted to insure that all participants in the salvage and pollution response were aware and prepared for the daily activities. The resources of all personnel were directed towards one common goal - a well-planned and safely executed operation.The first and by far the most important order of business was the location and recovery of the 3 missing crew members remains. This most difficult of tasks was completed in 2 days. It was preceded by a traditional maritime ceremony and the placing of American flags with each crew member when recovered. The flags were obtained from other causalities in which crewmember's remains were previously recovered by Inland Salvage, Inc. divers.Fuel, lube oil and hydraulic oils were removed with hot tapping. The cargo of fish was discharged into a receiver boat as well as air-lifted.Inland Salvage Inc.'s A-Frame H/L salvage barges "Large Marge" and "Big Al" were used to render the 3inch ORQ anchor chain loaded to 300 tons in the cutting operation. The task of preserving collision damage was complicated by its location in aft part of forward fish hull. This being the best location to cut the casualty, divers resolved the problem by making pilot cuts with underwater torches. These cuts steered the cutting chain, dividing the collision damage into 2 equal halves which preserved the impact area for investigation and eliminated the complications of a single lift of the severely weekend hull.Inland Salvage Inc. faced a daunting list of environmental and public concerns. The vessel sank on the western edge of the Gulfport ship channel. Ship traffic sensitive to the economy of Gulfport could not be impeded. Close oversight by the US Coast Guard, National Parks Service, and the public in general, would tolerate no errors in judgment. Further complication came with the salvage operation coinciding with the traditional Mississippi boating weekend of Memorial Day, hurricane season and historic flooding of The Mississippi River.Media Contact: Director of Marketing Inland Salvage Inc., 251-990-6444, info@inlandsalvage.comA debris field recovery followed the removal of the hulls.(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110705/CG30162)Within a few days the same course of action was taken in recovering the 480 ton stern section.SOURCE Inland Salvage Inc.The diving survey determined that the casualty's Hull Girder Section Modulus was so compromised that the hull would be divided into two sections. Using airlifts and water jetting divers excavated 5 tunnels between the port side of the causality and the sea floor. Eight sets of rolling and catching rigging (par buckling) were passed through the 2 forward and 2 aft tunnels. A cutting chain was passed through the middle tunnel.Immediately upon being notified by the vessel's owner that Inland Salvage Inc. (ISI) had been appointed as the salvor, ISI responded to the sinking of the 168' fishing vessel "Sandy Point" which collided with the container ship "Eurus London" on May 18, 2011. The "Sandy Point" was laden with approximately 5,000 gallons of diesel oil, with 1,200,000 menhaden fish and 100 gallons of lubrication oil when the vessel sank.Great clouds of purse-netting and the 2 seine boats were removed before a diving survey could be conducted.Eli Zatezalo, President of Inland Salvage Inc., stated, "This was a sensitive salvage operation, our main focus was locating and recovering the 3 missing crew members remains so that they could be returned to their loved ones. We were faced with almost every facet of salvage during this operation. Locating and recovering the missing crew members, chain cutting the vessel in half, underwater hot-tapping for lightering operations, par-buckling each section and heavy lifts in the 400t to 500t range - all conducted 8 miles offshore.

SOURCE Inland Salvage Inc.

Customs intercept drug sub

By NAOMI McELROY TONNES of cocaine have been found on a submarine off the Honduran coast by the Honduras and American navies.

Honduran General Rene Osorio said there were more than five tonnes of cocaine on the vessel, and authorities would need two days to retrieve all of it.The vessel is submerged because the crew tried to sink it after they were intercepted two weeks ago.Honduras is on a key route used by cartels trafficking drugs to the US.

Coast guard officials intercepted the submarine-like craft off the coast of Honduras near Gracias a Dios. Some 'cocaine subs' built by smugglers are capable of diving up to 60feet.

Fishermen rescued after their boat sinks off Skye

THREE fishermen have been rescued after their boat sank in the Minch off Neist Point on the Isle of Skye.

A spokesman for Stornoway coastguard said the men were uninjured and in a good condition.The men were airlifted to safety by the Stornoway coastguard helicopter. The Barra lifeboat was also sent to the scene.The alarm was raised shortly after midnight yesterday by the crew on board the Northern Ireland-registered vessel, the Vellee.

Meanwhile, two people competing in a regatta off the Isle of Wight had to be rescued from the sea at 3.20pm yesterday after their yacht collided with an oil tanker. Neither was seriously injured.