Alligator

No, not the reptilian version. The submarine version. In 1863 the U.S. Navy's first submarine, the "Alligator" was lost in a fierce storm off Cape Hatteras.

Today a joint expedition of NOAA (The National Oceanic & Atmosmpheric Administration), with support from the Office of Naval Research, continues a previous search for the Alligator.

According to NOAA's web site, the present survey, which is based on Ocracoke Island, "is part of an ongoing effort by NOAA, ONR and partners to solve the mystery of the Alligator's fate, while promoting scientific and historical research, education and ocean literacy."

The hunt will continue for four days, employing "a robot sub and metal detector and other remote sensing equipment."

You can read more from NOAA here.

Our current monthly Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the Old Toothbrush Man, published August 01, 2005. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news080105.htm.]