Atlantic Ocean

Allstate Corp. and other insurers could be forced to write homeowner policies throughout Maryland, including coastal areas where some companies have pulled out, under legislation being drafted in the General Assembly. Del. David D. Rudolph, vice chairman of the House Economic Matters Committee, said yesterday that he plans to introduce the bill but that specific language has yet to be worked out. Rudolph said he is responding in part to Allstate's announcement in December that it would stop writing new homeowner policies in the state's coastal areas.

GENEVA -- They have cleared the Alps, crossed Africa and Asia and the great Pacific. They have skirted war zones and bumped through storms. They've been practically becalmed, traveling as slow as 20 mph, using up precious fuel at 8,000 feet. And they have hurtled at speeds up to 115 mph in the jet streams at more than 35,000 feet.They have been chilled and frightened, mesmerized and challenged on an aerial journey for the ages -- the quest to become the first human beings to circumnavigate the globe nonstop in a balloon.

When you know the answers to these questions, go to http://www.4Kids.org/detectives/In 1903, what's the farthest any plane had flown?Which type of ball is used in Street Ball?Can you remember what two things make a droodle? (Go to http://www.exploratorium.edu/memory to find out.)SPIRIT OF ST. LOUISAt the young age of 25, Charles Lindbergh was the toast of the world after becoming the first person to fly across the Atlantic. At PBS' American Experience Web site dedicated to Lindbergh, you'll discover a fascinating world of aviation and adventure.

I glance out the back window of the cab crossing the threshold of the St. James's Club in Antigua and watch as the gates come down behind us. We are locked in for five days, trapped in paradise, trying not to feel too smug.With four teen-agers giving us a run for our money this year, we have taken what little money is left and run for the Caribbean.Our goal, by the way, is to do nothing, something we have never done before.That's why we've gone "all-inclusive," the new wave in Caribbean vacationing that leaves stressed-out vacationers free to contemplate their tans rather than their plans.

In the black depths of the Atlantic Ocean, thousands of feet down, lives a hideous, predatory fish whose 40-inch bulk dwarfs her tiny, 4-inch male partner.The immature male swims freely for a time. But when he finds a female, he sinks his teeth into her. His circulatory system soon merges with hers and he becomes a parasite, unable to move or eat on his own. He is a blind sexual appendage, whose sole function is to fertilize her eggs.These are fish. Any resemblance to humans is purely coincidental.

Each year, thousands of boaters venture into the coastal waterways of the eastern United States. Most have uneventful trips, but some have emergencies and must rely on a fellow boater or the U.S. Coast Guard for help in making it safely back to shore. In a few cases, a boater disappears without a trace from these waters. There's no report of a radio transmission, of a "Mayday" call, or of a distant flare spotted in the night. Boater and vessel are simply never seen again. Following is the story of one such disappearance.

The front end of Trans World Airlines Flight 800 broke away, plunging toward the Atlantic Ocean, while the rest of the plane continued to hurtle through the air, engines still running, before bursting into an enormous fireball seconds later, law enforcement officials said yesterday.Several federal law enforcement officials said the new finding strengthened their belief that a bomb, possibly stored in the front cargo hold, blew off part of the forward portion of the plane.Although there are no forensic tests that have definitively shown that an explosive device caused the crash, officials said yesterday that a bomb was the most likely reason for the Boeing 747 to break apart, yet manage to stay aloft until the rest exploded on July 17, nine miles off East Moriches, N.Y. All 230 people aboard were killed.

NEW YORK -- After picking apart some of the wadded remains of the cockpit of Trans World Airlines Flight 800, investigators concluded yesterday that the catastrophic explosion that destroyed the Boeing 747 most likely did not originate inside the cockpit or in the electronics bay beneath it.They were partly persuaded by a surprising discovery found in the ton of wreckage that had been the jet's cockpit: The circles of glass that cover many of the cockpit dials,...

"I just want to rock and let his spirit roll," sang Promises. "Jesus is the one, y'know, who died for me."People of all ages sat inside the open-air pavilion along the Atlantic Ocean at Ocean Grove, N.J., to enjoy the free evening performance by the contemporary Christian music trio.Others strolling, jogging, biking and skating by stopped to watch and listen. A young mother danced with her baby on the boardwalk. Overhead, a long-tailed kite also seemed to dance with the music.As a full moon rose over the ocean last summer, children played freeze tag on the beach.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A man who has earned a national reputation for predicting hurricanes has a few numbers for you:Ten vicious storms will come calling this year along coastlines facing the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.Six of them will be hurricanes, with sustained winds of at least 74 mph.Two will be potential killers, with winds exceeding 100 mph.They will add up to some of the worst storm activity in five years, said William Gray, the nation's only...

The Ocean City Beach Patrol is warning beach-goers to beware of high tides and rip currents this weekend as Hurricane Bill churns in the Atlantic Ocean. "If you're not a good swimmer, don't even think about going into the water," said Lt. Ward Kovacs. Kovacs said all 92 lifeguard chairs will be filled this weekend in Ocean City in anticipation of a large crowd looking to take advantage of the waves created by the hurricane as summer winds down. Bill is not expected to make landfall, but instead languish in the Atlantic Ocean hundreds of miles away and head north up the Eastern Seaboard.

MOLLY KOOL CARNEY, 93 Groundbreaking sailor Molly K. Carney, who as Molly Kool was the first woman in North America to become a licensed ship captain, died Feb. 25 at a retirement home in Bangor, Maine. Known in Canada by her maiden name, Molly Kool won her captain's papers in 1939 and sailed the Atlantic Ocean between Alma, New Brunswick, and Boston for five years, her friend Ken Kelly said.

A replica of La Amistad docked at the Inner Harbor yesterday as part of an 18-month voyage that retraced the history of the original ship and the slave trade on the Atlantic Ocean. Several speakers, including Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, extolled the historical importance of the original ship, while a large crowd of middle- and high-school students looked on from the dock. In 1839, the 53 slaves on the ship, which was transporting them between ports in Cuba, revolted and took control, and eventually guided the ship to New York, where it was captured by the U.S. Navy.

CHAPPAQUIDDICK ISLAND, Mass. - Native Americans called the bay Katama. Those of us who are attempting to fish it this season are calling it our Bay of Ignorance. My family spends the last two weeks of August up here off the island of Martha's Vineyard, reading, eating, watching old movies and fishing. We recalibrate our internal clocks to a slower time, one more in tune with what the weather and tides provide than with what the mainland insists upon. Pulse rates fall. Laughter comes more easily.

A number of years ago, I couldn't be persuaded to ride "Superman: Ride of Steel," at Six Flags America. I simply hate that feeling I get in my stomach (with a smile on my face) when riding over the crest of the first hill of a roller coaster. When I was given the chance to take a media ride with pilot Charles Lynch and the Yak Attack Demo Team, I was faced with another chance of placing my life in someone else's hands, and photo editor Chuck Weiss wanted me to shoot video and capture photos.

BEACH NEWS A WAVE OF HOLIDAY VISITORS If you're going to Ocean City for a weekend getaway, be sure to get there early to claim your stake in the sand. According to the city's Department of Tourism, an estimated 259,823 tourists visited the resort town during Memorial Day weekend, marking the best unofficial start to the summer season since 1994. Town officials pointed to the weather, with highs near 80, as the reason for the increase in the number of visitors. "Much of the talk leading up to the holiday weekend was about gas prices topping $3, but the weather decided to steal the show," said Mayor Rick Meehan.

Many villages along New Jersey's coastline facing the Atlantic Ocean are primarily summer-residents only. Because their seasons are short, they've been able to resist erosion - meaning any capitulation to contemporary tastes. Until quite recently, treasured attractions along the shore (pronounced "show-uh" here), such as the Miss America pageant, Wacky Golf or the East Coast's biggest Ferris wheel, created a prevalent style that was a bit oblivious, but endearingly cheesy nonetheless - something like a teenager with a bright-red sunburn.

Allstate Corp. and other insurers could be forced to write homeowner policies throughout Maryland, including coastal areas where some companies have pulled out, under legislation being drafted in the General Assembly. Del. David D. Rudolph, vice chairman of the House Economic Matters Committee, said yesterday that he plans to introduce the bill but that specific language has yet to be worked out. Rudolph said he is responding in part to Allstate's announcement in December that it would stop writing new homeowner policies in the state's coastal areas.

Thirty groups, including fishing clubs and oil companies, have formed a coalition to help the state build more fish and oyster reefs. The Maryland Artificial Reef Initiative will use charitable contributions and grants to buy used construction materials and have them hauled to Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean sites to enhance aquatic habitat. "This is an unprecedented partnership using private and public funds to restore marine habitat in Maryland," said Martin Gary, coordinator of the program for the Department of Natural Resources.

Ridge -- The old Woodrow Wilson Bridge sleeps with the fishes. Chunk by chunk, the bridge that linked Maryland to Virginia and was the bane of commuters in the Interstate 95 corridor, is being hauled to the waters off this St. Mary's County community to create a home for striped bass, bluefish and oysters. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Bill Curry, president of the Coastal Conservation Association's Maryland chapter, as a massive backhoe shoved a slab of concrete off a barge and into the water yesterday.