Talk:Pebble Island

Exact position of the sinking of the Coventry, but how far was this from Pebble Island?
I've found the exact co-ordinates for the sinking of the Coventry: 51 03.6S, 59 42.2W, and I found a blog which said that this was 12.5 miles (unspecified) from Pebble Island. I don't know how to convert co-ordinates into distances, but perhaps someone else can. Michael Glass (talk) 23:11, 29 January 2010 (UTC)


 * The distance is about 15 nautical miles from the co-ordinates given at the top of the article - but that location is at the centre of Pebble Island. When you read that something is 15 nautical miles from an island, you would normally assume that the measurement is taken from the island's coast, not some arbitrary point near the centre of the island.  In this case it makes a significant difference: fiddling with Google Earth gives a measure of about 11½ nautical miles from the nearest coast of the island (which would appear to be at about 51°15'S 59°45'W).  On a direct north-south line, the latitude of the coast is a bit south of 51°16'S, so 12½ nautical miles roughly works out.  A useful rule of thumb for north-south lines, incidentally, is that one arcminute of latitude is about one nautical mile of distance.


 * I will refrain from starting the units discussion on this page, leaving it to the work group. Pfainuk talk 23:42, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

If Google Earth gives 12.5 nautical miles, that would confirm the figure given in the blog and contradict the figure given in the Navy's report. We could, of course, attribute the figure of 10 [nautical?] miles to the Navy and have a footnote explaining that according to Google earth the actual distance appears to be 12.5 nautical miles. Perhaps the wording could go something like this:


 * According to the inquiry into the loss of HMS Coventry, the ship sank "10 miles" north of Pebble Island in May 1982 The co-ordinates of the sinking are 51 03.6S, 59 42.2W and this is 12.5 nmi from the nearest point on Pebble Island.

What do you think? Michael Glass (talk) 06:57, 31 January 2010 (UTC)


 * It's not 12.5 nmi from the nearest point. It's only 11.5 nmi from the nearest point.  12.5 nmi is if you take a north-south line, not the same thing at all.  The difference is potentially significant because 11.5 nmi is within Falklands territorial waters, whereas 12.5 nmi is outside.  Pfainuk talk 08:25, 31 January 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for pointing this out. Michael Glass (talk) 09:39, 31 January 2010 (UTC)

I think the text could benefit from adding the co-ordinates of the nearest point on Pebble Island. Then those who were interested and had the expertise could verify the calculation of the distance for themselves. How do you feel about this wording - with the addition of those co-ordinates?


 * According to the inquiry into the loss of HMS Coventry, the ship sank "10 miles" north of Pebble Island in May 1982 The co-ordinates of the sinking are 51 03.6S, 59 42.2W and this is about 11.5 nmi from the nearest point on Pebble Island.

Michael Glass (talk) 01:36, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

I have now added the words (above) to the article though I feel they would be better with the co-ordinates of the nearest point on Pebble Island. Unfortunately, I can't supply those co-ordinates. I have added a citation notice to one sentence. It doesn't make sense. If the raid was successful, the Argentines wouldn't be in a position to confine the islanders to the manager's house. This needs checking.

Also, the paragraph needs reorganising and perhaps splitting into two or even three as it is dealing so many different things: the occupation, the assault, the memorials, the sinking and exactly where it happened and then the aftermath of the raid. Michael Glass (talk) 21:34, 2 February 2010 (UTC)

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Merge with Pebble Island Settlement
As both articles are rather short, and both are related to the same island, I suggest Pebble Island Settlement be merged into this article. JackintheBox (talk) 05:17, 11 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Support. The settlement article contains little if anything that isn't in the island article.  Tony Holkham   (Talk)  23:05, 11 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Support. The Pebble island article as a whole would be better served if the two were merged. Regards. The joy of all things (talk) 10:37, 13 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Support. Appears to make sense. WCM email 13:10, 13 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Support. Yes, it makes sense. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 07:55, 14 January 2019 (UTC)
 * ✅ Klbrain (talk) 21:45, 23 June 2019 (UTC)