In A Boat, On The Oil

Craig Pittman: ABOARD THE PATROL VESSEL ORION -- Lt. Rama Shuster pulled the boat's throttle back to idle speed as his two crewmen peered at the mess in the water.

Ten miles off Pensacola Beach on Sunday afternoon floated what looked like the biggest swirl of peanut butter in the world. It was 7 feet in diameter and several inches thick. Fish flitted in and out of its shadow, even though its edges oozed a silvery sheen that coated the waves. Small pieces had broken off, so it appeared to be surrounded by an armada of pencil erasers.

"That's really wild to see that," said Shuster, 33, shaking his head. He said he was amazed that oil from 5,000 feet beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico had somehow wended its way 200 miles to Florida's coast and now floated near the shore, threatening to wreck the state's economy and environment.