The scope and scale of the property damage and loss of life resulting from Hurricane Ian to Florida and the Carolinas are still being assessed. The hurricane is likely to rank among the most destructive storms to strike to state in recent history.
Hurricanes, of course, are nothing new to the region. On July 31, 1715, a hurricane struck the east coast of Florida, sinking 10 Spanish treasure ships and killing nearly 1,000 people. All of the gold and silver onboard at the time would not be recovered until 250 years later.
As recounted by History.com, on July 24, 10 Spanish ships and one French ship left Havana, Cuba, on their way to Europe, carrying tons of gold and silver coins, about 14 million pesos worth. The Spanish ships stayed very close to the Florida coast, as was the custom, while the French ship, the Grifon, ventured further out from the shore. A week later, as the ships were between Cape Canaveral and Fort Pierce, in modern-day Florida, the winds picked up dramatically.
Yesterday, we posted 
The verdict in the court-martial of 21-year-old Seaman Ryan Mays, accused of deliberately setting the fire that torched the billion-plus dollar amphibious assault ship 
On a recent trip to Scotland, we visited the beautiful Loch Ness. While we were there, we heard of a sighting of a weird beastie in the loch. But no, not Nessie, the famous monster, or even a loch 
The Royal Navy aircraft carrier 
The 
In early September, just weeks before his sentencing in a decade-long Navy bribery and corruption scandal, Leonard Glenn Francis, known as “
The 137-foot 
The legend of the 
Herbert “Bert” Jacobson was 21 when he died in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Over 80 years later, he was finally laid to rest yesterday in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. He was one of 429 sailors and Marines on the battleship 
On the morning of September 4, at 7:35 AM, Leonard Glenn Francis, known as “Fat Leonard,” cut his ankle bracelet monitor and 
The 
An updated repost. There is a line from a Paul Simon song, “these are the days of miracle and wonder.” One might not think to apply that lyric to the events of 9/11, 21 years ago today. Yet for at least part of that strange and horrible day, they fit. The great