On Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:40:17 -0800, "Steve B"
wrote:

In about 1975, we had to locate a valve on a pipeline on the sea floor in
the Gulf of Mexico. This was pre GPS days. The survey boat came in, did
their electronic gizmo stuff, and steered straight on a heading. Along the
way, when they got to a certain point, they threw off five cane pole buoys
with flags atop them. They ran a perpendicular route to those flags, and
dropped five more, intersecting the previous five.

We dove on the site, and found the valve on the second dive. No horizon in
sight, about 80 miles out. We were impressed.

That same night, they ran into an unmanned platform, and nearly sank. Never
heard the whole story, but I bet someone was stoned, or in an altered state
of consciousness. They could find a needle in a haystack, yet ran into a
stationary steel platform.

Go figger.

===

I'd figger that it should have shown up on both charts and radar.

The law of the sea has its' own way of adjudicating things. And
sometimes there's just bad luck, which you're expected to prepare for
and act accordingly. For all of its charm, the sea just doesn't
care.