Steve it all boils down to semantics.
Read, assimilate and digest.
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/guide/weather/marine/beaufort-scale
I think I will let the met office make the definitive statement about what constitutes a hurricane, or does a biologist know better?

Note the beaufort scale is EMPIRICAL. Force 12 greater than 64knots = hurricane and based on a sea state

Easier to use instrumentation that is both accurate and capable of accurate calibration, doncha think?

So a hurricane can be a)a sustained wind speed greater than 64knots
                      b)A storm system(tropical cyclone) that occurs                                                                                                                  
                        in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific
                        Ocean,
Now is there the slightest chance that the above will make you happy, and the thread can revert to sanity, my nit picky little friend?