Hmmm, one famous sinking comes to mind, but I have no idea if I am even close. Chuck just left for one of his meetings or I would ask him.

The one I am thinking of was also a passenger ship. Will have to think about the other-are they connected to each other?

Cynthia

Other than the Titanic, it looks like he was looking for warships, so maybe the two ships in question are warships, or related to war. Maybe one is the L... ?

TM

That is where I was going, too, TM!

Ahhh....maybe this will be too easy!! Yes, they are related, and yes they are warships!! The search for the Titanic became the 'cover' story. 'L', however, is off the mark.

I'm feeling a little under the weather today. My doctor is still trying to figure out what is 'paining' me. I hate tests, especially the ones that have you injected with radio-active isotopes!! I think I'd rather have a common old cold!! lol. Or just be healthy??

Nancy.

I am thinking atomic submarine, though do not have a name.

Good idea, Bobbie. The name is probably somewhere in our brains, if only we could shake it loose. Shake, baby, shake.

TM

Not the Lusitania, huh? Ok. Off to ask Chuck if he knows. Of course, then no stars for me, but I am not picking up on any clues for the ship names! :(

Well, Chuck came up with an idea. The one he thought of was sunk by the Bismark. We can't come up with another, though.

Nancy, I'm sorry you aren't feeling well. Tests are definitely no fun, but better to find out what the pain is and get it fixed! Or was part of that a clue as Bobbie and TM think?

Oh, I have no idea.

Cynthia

Well, I am back!! We went to a local mill, to watch them process grain to flour - there are so many steps!! Then to a purse sale, where some of the purses represented astrological signs. Being a Leo, I of course liked the lion ones, but of the others just seemed creepy to me!!

Nancy - who spent 8.25 for 2 purses!!! For Charity!! lol.

I'm guessing subs, but haven't a clue to the names.

Annette

Shake, shake, shake - you know, it is how they separate the grains!!

Sorry I left you for a while today, but you know - it is in my nature!

Nancy.

Gad, I must be the dumbest person on the planet! I know you are giving us clues, but can I figure out the answer? Nooooooo. :(

Cynthia

Ha! Thanks, Nancy. I just remembered the name of that nuclear sub that was lost at sea. Cyrus McCormick would have been amazed to see the machine that bore this name all these years after he made farm machinery.

TM

Well, let's see:
shake
nuclear
grain
cold
astrological sign
under
it is in my nature

Anyone??

Nancy.

Threshing, thresher ???

Annette

I think Thresher was a US nuclear sub that sank in the 60s.

The second sub/ship must be one named after an astrological sign, pain, it is in my nature (from the fable?) indicate Scorpion.

I worked outside all afternoon cutting back ornamental grasses.
Ground is still frozen but there is already some new green.

Scorpion sounds like it might fit so I'll tag a long with that one :).

Annette

Excellent - you have it, Bobbie and Annette. TM got Thresher - also Scorpion? Cyn? Sorry I left you yesterday for so long - our annual purse sale for Big Brothers and Sisters - lots of fun and good deals for every budget!! lol.
{{gwi:601081}}
In the summer of 1985, Ballard was aboard the French research ship Le Suroît, which was using the side scan sonar SAR to search for Titanic's wreck. When the French ship was recalled, Ballard transferred onto a ship from Woods Hole, the R/V Knorr. Unbeknownst to some, this trip was financed by the U.S. Navy for secret reconnaissance of the wreckage of two Navy nuclear powered attack submarines, the USS Scorpion and the USS Thresher, which sank in the 1960s, and not for Titanic. Back in 1982, Ballard approached the Navy about his new deep sea underwater robot craft, the Argo, and his search for Titanic. The Navy was not interested in financing the search for the large ocean liner. However, they were interested in finding out what happened to their missing submarines and ultimately concluded that Argo was their best chance to do so. The Navy agreed it would finance Ballard's Titanic search only if he first searched for and investigated the two sunken submarines, and found out the state of their nuclear reactors after being submerged for such a long time, and whether their radioactivity was impacting the environment. Ballard was placed on temporary active duty in the Navy, in charge of finding and investigating the wrecks. After the two missions were completed, time and funding permitting, Ballard was free to use resources to hunt for Titanic.

The second USS Thresher (SSN-593) was the lead boat of her class of nuclear-powered attack submarines in the United States Navy. Her loss at sea in the North Atlantic during deep-diving tests approximately 220 miles east of Boston, Massachusetts, on April 10, 1963 was a watershed event for the U.S. Navy, leading to the implementation of a rigorous submarine safety program known as SUBSAFE. Measured by lives lost, historic context and significance, the sinking of Thresher was then, and remains today, the world's worst submarine disaster. As the first nuclear submarine lost at sea, its disappearance generated international shock and sympathy. As the lead vessel, the class name should have been Thresher-class. However, when the Thresher was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on April 16, 1963, out of respect for naval tradition its name was retired and the class name was changed to that of the second boat, USS Permit (SSN-594): thus, despite being the lead boat, the Thresher is, officially, referrred to as a Permit-class submarine. Having been "lost at sea", Thresher was not decommissioned by the U.S. Navy and remains on “Eternal Patrol.”

USS Scorpion (SSN-589) was a Skipjack-class nuclear submarine of the United States Navy, and the sixth vessel of the U.S. Navy to carry that name. Scorpion was declared lost on 5 June 1968 with 99 crewmen dying in the incident. On 1 February 1967 Scorpion entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for another extended overhaul. However, instead of the much-needed complete overhaul, she received only emergency repairs to get her back on duty as soon as possible. Operational pressures and complex and unforeseen problems created by the Submarine Safety Program (SUBSAFE) that was initiated after the 1963 loss of Thresher, meant that submarine overhauls went from nine months in length to 36 months. Intensive vetting of submarine component quality required by the SUBSAFE program coupled with various improvements and intensified structural inspections - particularly hull welding inspections using ultrasonic testing - were issues that reduced the availability of critical parts such as seawater piping. Cold War pressures prompted U.S. Submarine Fleet Atlantic (SUBLANT) officers to hunt for ways to reduce overhaul durations. The U.S. Navy has acknowledged that it periodically visits the site to conduct testing for the release of nuclear materials from the nuclear reactor or the two nuclear weapons aboard her, and to determine whether the wreckage has been disturbed. The Navy has not released any information about the status of the wreckage, except for a few photographs taken of the wreckage in 1968, and again in 1985 by deep water submersibles.

So, for Bobbie, Thin Man and Annette:

Thanks for playing. Interesting history, and finding the Titanic made it all plausible!! See you next week.

Nancy.

I didn't remember Scorpion at all, so I really deserve only two stars today. Oddly, the first name to pop into my mind was Skipjack, but that was clearly off, though connected.

Great question and answer, Nancy. Thank you.

TM

Sorry I didn't get back.

Great question. Chuck loved it. Thanks for the fun.

Hope you are feeling better if that wasn't just a way of getting those good clues in for us. ;)

Cynthia

Well, we find out, hopefully this Thursday what is up with my left leg. If I was a wild animal, I might have gnawed it off by now, but I keep hoping that I might be cured - lol. We'll see. Thanks for playing!!

Nancy.

Thanks for listing the clues to help me find the answers. A memory was shaken loose by Annette's thresher. I kept thinking reaper but didn't think that was an appropriate name as would make one think of the grim reaper which, in this case, was all too fitting.

Hope you find relief for your leg problem soon, Nancy. Will be thinking of you on Thursday.

I was so lost i couldn't even come up with any guesses. lol That and my computer keeps freezing! It's working ok now so I should be quiet and enjoy.
:) Laura

This post was edited by auntyara on Tue, Apr 9, 13 at 20:05