"Like my cousin said, it could be a local signal...." As I was conning the battleship IOWA into New York harbor in 1985 or 86, the harbor pilot came to me and informed me that the traditional NY ferryboat "salute" to visiting vessels of significance is two toots on the whistle and that I shouldn't mistake it as a passing signal. Giving him my most sangfroid expression, I informed him over the deafening clatter of overhead news helicopters that I had no intention of paying much attention to any signal from anything short of a large merchant vessel - if I could even hear the signal or anything else. The noise and cramped quarters of a battleship bridge (actually quite a bit less room than a destroyer) sort of held me in a cocoon of communication with the helm, lee helm, and pilot with an occasional shout from the navigator (No GPS). Rich Gano Calypso (GB42 Hull # 295) Panama City area, FL