Around the shore's edge, crowded with helpless people, the gulf water was beginning to darken.
The wetlands on the surface began to sink into the gulf waters.
The gulf waters were silver under the rising moon.
Minesweeping experts say the vessels are less than ideal for the gulf waters, but the Navy says this is the best of several bad choices.
Recently, as gulf waters have become even warmer, the storms have grown larger and more intense.
During winter and spring along the immediate coast, temperatures are kept cool by relatively cool gulf waters.
But even its more modest proposal for drilling in eastern gulf waters should be blocked for now by Congress.
The battle over the gulf waters stirred the fierce opposition of most Florida politicians.
The Baghdad radio said, "the aggression led to the leak of a huge quantity of oil in the gulf water."
Last year Maine fishermen took 166 million pounds of fish, worth an estimated $108 million, from gulf waters.