Dan & Michael,

You know, I was quite proud of myself for not mentioning Melanie. I missed the first few minutes of the show, so I didn't get to hear why she was there (as if I didn't know).

Perhaps they were trying to throw us off by bundling her up like the Michelin man for those cold northern waters instead of having her debut in say the carribean or mediteranean;-)

In any event, it sounds like a mine initially pushed away by the bow wave and then coming back in to strike the aft part of the ship was the most likely cause. Gee, wasn't that what the Navy report said?

It's a shame good money had to be spent on a manufactured mystery instead of one of the many true mysteries listed on this site.

Thanks for the input!

Eric