[daepp]

I generally think I'm fairly aware of the ways of the world. And of course I've known all my life that 3/4 of the Earth's surface is water. That said, I was lucky enough to be invited on a US Navy DDG (guided missile destroyer) for a 5 days and nights transit from Pearl Harbor to San Diego. Now I know that has nothing to do with the area in question, but I spent a LOT of time in amazement at just how freaking large that ocean is,

I think for a lot of people around the world the loss of that Triple 7 opened their eyes to just how large the oceans are. And perhaps reminded them that, despite living in the "modern era", the world is just so large that it is indeed possible to vanish without a trace.

My $.02 anyways...