I meant that its an smaller style H-bomb compared to the newer high yield ballistic missile multi-warheads we have now days that can take out cities(that i associate with being nukes.
Well, you're right in that a few of today's nuclear weapons have a higher yield - although there's not many that do.
The bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (that ended WWII) were 14 kilotons and 21 kilotons, respectively. That's the destructive power of 14,000 and 21,000 tons of TNT, respectively.
...And each of those "took out a city." A nice-sized city.
The Tybee Bomb is a 1.5 megaton bomb - that's the destructive power of 1,500,000 tons of TNT.
In other words, more than 100 times the destructive power of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.
To say that this somehow isn't a bomb "capable of destroying a city" is a gross understatement by at least 100 times.
In fact, if this went off, it would atomize, blast or incinerate an area with about a 250 mile radius... So not only would it destroy Savannah, but everything from roughly Jacksonville, FL to Atlanta, GA to Charleston, SC would pretty much be gone.
...Then the fallout would begin, which would probably drift around in our atmophere for decades, wreaking havoc whereever it went.
For what it's worth, planet Earth has never seen the detonation of a nuclear device this size before.
Physically speaking, the 4-ton bomb is one of the largest bombs ever manufactured.
...Not that I'm trying to make you feel bad for saying that it's not nuclear or that it's somehow smaller and therefore not very threatening... And I'm not trying to paint a doomsday picture about it all - I'm simply giving the facts. The bomb is very much a nuclear bomb, is very much a "WMD" as defined by the US Government, and is, by no stretch of the imagination, unimposing or small.
The TV show very much downplays the threat, at McNamera's specific request to the producer. If you do the math (Savannah's population alone is about 250,000 - there's more than 1 million living in the area I specified above, not including each of the cities I mentioned above), a detonation of the Tybee Bomb would affect vastly more than "a quarter of a million people" as it said in the TV show.
...And that's before any effects from fallout (noted in the past to double the mortality rate) and the contamination of the Floridian aquafer with both radioactive waste and salt water... Which would contaminate pretty much the entire water supply for the Southeastern US... Not to mention every spring in North Florida.
Not that Tybee would be any less screwed I think(if not the blast, the after effects).
Tybee - and in fact, Savannah, would be vaporized if the bomb went (or was made to go) nuclear. Tybee would be the last of our concerns.
I think its farther out than what rumor has it although I am sure you probably have a better idea than I do. Thats what I have been told it is anyway. Plane dropped it in the early 60s didnt it?
February 5th, 1958, in the wee morning hours.
The bomb is within 3 miles of the shoreline, no further north than the Savannah River inlet and no further south than Ossabaw Island, which is two sounds to the south of Tybee. The area is 3 miles wide by about 12 mile long - roughly 36 square miles.
The hottest spot for searching is directly off of the Tybee Pier by about a mile and a half.
Beachgoers have no idea.
I wasnt aware we had tigers in our area. That's interesting, I will let him know next time I am up there, he thinks they were big hammerheads.
There's hammerheads, too, but like the sand tigers, they're generally offshore. The hammerheads are rarer than the sand tigers, though.
The tiger sharks are very common, especially in deeper inland waters. Locally they can grow to about 14 feet - to see one smaller than 9 or 10 is pretty unusual.
They breed and spawn here.
The Broad River bridge, about halfway between you and I, is a virtual hot spot for them.
Caught last summer right off of Parris Island, halfway between Hilton Head and Beaufort:
From the article:
http://scallywagfishing.wordpress.com/tag/broad-river-shark/
Apparently not all that deep either, said he could still see the boat's silhouette on the surface and sharks in between him and it and if he bolted like he said he did I think he would have had other issues besides shark bumps if he was deep.
Yeah, the sand tigers generally don't exceed 6 or 7 feet. What he encountered was probably a tiger shark. Especially in our local low-vis waters, it was probably a good idea that he got out of the water.
In his words he surfaced and with momentum grabbed the side of the strangers boat and pulled himself up and over flopping onto the deck.
Hahahahaaa... Yeah, we call it "Pulling a Jesus." That's when the diver stands up and walks on water over to the boat.
The stranger immediately turned on the engine and hit the throttle mentioning if whatever made my friend do what he did was that bad, he didnt want to be there either. Says he saw alot of dark shapes in the wake. Thinking he made himself a target by bolting which made them even more curious. Big tough ranger heheh.
Lol... He shoulda cut up some bait, chummed and taken photos.
Sharks are pretty cool, and not the mindless killers that everyone makes them out to be.
Too many JAWS movies.
You have gotten bit by tarpon and cobia? Makes for an interesting story, new extreme fishing technique?
Hahhahahahaaha... Yeah, and they freakin' hurt.
You know, I wouldn't put anything past our local rednecks.
Out of curiousity, since you are a local diver, have you run into areas with high concentrations of gorgonians with sea horses. I have heard they were out there but no one I know has actually seen them. Kinda curious as to what species they would be if they do in fact exist.
Yeah, the 'Ross is covered with them. That said, you've got to look for them - even though they're numerous, they're quite well camoflaged.
I honestly have no idea how to identify different species of sea horses, so I couldn't begin to tell you what kind they are. Probably the same kind as you'd find in the Gulf Stream offshore Florida, since that's where we get our tropicals from...
