Message posted by lone wolf on July 21, 2004 at 22:53:43 PST:
Well not totally off topic since the Beech Janet's do land at NSI. I was at the local scuba shop refilling my tank and noticed the owner was sponsoring trips to the Channel Islands, so I asked if he ever went diving around San Nicolas Island, to which he replied "only around 30 times." As most people know, NSI is a target for launches from Pt. Mugu, so I asked him what he saw. Basically, the Navy gets on the radio (marine I assume) and says it's time to leave the area. They give such little advance notice that often he had seen the cruise missiles go flying by toward the island. I don't quite know the how they divy up the San Nicolas island, but I gather the Navy has exclusive access to part of the island, and the public can be on the rest of the island unless there is a test. He said that he was there once on the 4th of July and noticed the Navy guys stringing wire on the beech. He didn't think much of it until there was an explosion big enough to knock him out of his chair. It turns out the Navy had rigged a set of charges to celebrate the 4th, sending sand (he claimed) a thousand feet into the air.
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