The two-day eruption and associated tidal waves killed some 36, 000 people and destroyed two-thirds of the island.

CNN: Wednesday,

British researchers suggested that a volcanic eruption in the Canary Islands might, one day, cause a tidal wave to swamp America's east coast.

ECONOMIST: The fight continues

The Boat Race is unique because it takes place over a course that not only twists and turns - unlike the 2, 000m Olympic course - but does so on tidal water, where the pace of the stream varies, and conditions are never the same from one day to the next.

BBC: SPORT | Other Sport | Boat Race 2003 | Little things count