Oriskany site opens to divers off Pensacola Beach
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Herald Tribune
By Melissa Nelson
May 19, 2006
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The site of the sunken aircraft carrier USS Oriskany opened to recreational divers Friday afternoon, but rough seas and limited daylight forced many of those eager to explore "The Mighty O" in its new home to wait a day.
"I checked around to all the dive shops and nobody had any boats going out today. I even called all my friends with boats," said Dale Hickman, a longtime cave diver from Pensacola who hopes to dive inside the ship's passageways.
The Oriskany was sunk 24 miles off the Pensacola coastline by the Navy on Wednesday as the world's largest manmade reef. Local diving enthusiasts said it was now among the world's top dive destinations because of its size, nearly three football fields in length, and its history as a Korean and Vietnam war battleship.
"Right now we have people calling and booking trips as far out as January. I have a group that wants to come over from England and make the dive in January," Pensacola dive shop owner Jim Phillips said.
The state officially opened the Oriskany site to recreational divers at 1 p.m. EDT Friday, but Phillips postponed taking divers to the site until Saturday morning because of the rough seas and limited afternoon dive time.
"It's going to be a zoo out there tomorrow," said dive shop owner Eilene Beard, who planned to send 20 divers and five dive instructors to the site on Saturday and Sunday.
Stan Kirkland, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said divers from his agency went to the Oriskany on Thursday and reported that it was in excellent shape for recreational divers.
He said measurements indicated the flight deck sank to 135 feet below the surface near its stern and 140 feet near its bow - a depth attainable for advanced recreational divers.
Kirkland said a Navy ship using sonar had indicated the flight deck was 150 feet down, but the divers found it wasn't that deep and that the top of the ship's tower was 71 feet from the surface.
The Navy scuttled the famed aircraft carrier as its first ship disposed of through a pilot program to reef old warships instead of taking them to the scrap yard.
The Oriskany was commissioned in 1950 and named after an American Revolutionary War battle. It saw duty during the Korean War and was home to John McCain when the Navy pilot and future senator served in Vietnam. It was also among the ships used by President Kennedy in a show of force during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. It was decommissioned in 1976.
The $20 million sinking was delayed for nearly two years by hurricanes and environmental permitting problems. Pensacola leaders hope the ship will provide an economic infusion by luring sport divers and fishermen.
"This will provide a world-class diving destination for Escambia County and surrounding areas and that's why there was such a battle to secure this ships," Kirkland said. "This is going to be a kind of blueprint for other states including Florida in obtaining future Navy ships."
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www.artificial-reefs.blogspot.com
Herald Tribune
By Melissa Nelson
May 19, 2006
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The site of the sunken aircraft carrier USS Oriskany opened to recreational divers Friday afternoon, but rough seas and limited daylight forced many of those eager to explore "The Mighty O" in its new home to wait a day.
"I checked around to all the dive shops and nobody had any boats going out today. I even called all my friends with boats," said Dale Hickman, a longtime cave diver from Pensacola who hopes to dive inside the ship's passageways.
The Oriskany was sunk 24 miles off the Pensacola coastline by the Navy on Wednesday as the world's largest manmade reef. Local diving enthusiasts said it was now among the world's top dive destinations because of its size, nearly three football fields in length, and its history as a Korean and Vietnam war battleship.
"Right now we have people calling and booking trips as far out as January. I have a group that wants to come over from England and make the dive in January," Pensacola dive shop owner Jim Phillips said.
The state officially opened the Oriskany site to recreational divers at 1 p.m. EDT Friday, but Phillips postponed taking divers to the site until Saturday morning because of the rough seas and limited afternoon dive time.
"It's going to be a zoo out there tomorrow," said dive shop owner Eilene Beard, who planned to send 20 divers and five dive instructors to the site on Saturday and Sunday.
Stan Kirkland, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said divers from his agency went to the Oriskany on Thursday and reported that it was in excellent shape for recreational divers.
He said measurements indicated the flight deck sank to 135 feet below the surface near its stern and 140 feet near its bow - a depth attainable for advanced recreational divers.
Kirkland said a Navy ship using sonar had indicated the flight deck was 150 feet down, but the divers found it wasn't that deep and that the top of the ship's tower was 71 feet from the surface.
The Navy scuttled the famed aircraft carrier as its first ship disposed of through a pilot program to reef old warships instead of taking them to the scrap yard.
The Oriskany was commissioned in 1950 and named after an American Revolutionary War battle. It saw duty during the Korean War and was home to John McCain when the Navy pilot and future senator served in Vietnam. It was also among the ships used by President Kennedy in a show of force during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. It was decommissioned in 1976.
The $20 million sinking was delayed for nearly two years by hurricanes and environmental permitting problems. Pensacola leaders hope the ship will provide an economic infusion by luring sport divers and fishermen.
"This will provide a world-class diving destination for Escambia County and surrounding areas and that's why there was such a battle to secure this ships," Kirkland said. "This is going to be a kind of blueprint for other states including Florida in obtaining future Navy ships."
____
www.artificial-reefs.blogspot.com
posted by Pedro Caleja @ 9:30 AM
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