Sunken ship an economic treasure
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Pensacola News Journal
By Polyana da Costa
May 14, 2006
Thousands of divers worldwide expected to descend on reef
The Oriskany is to divers what Mount Everest is to climbers.
The 888-foot ship -- soon to be the only aircraft carrier sunk as a man-made artificial reef -- is about to be on top of the list of diving magazines throughout the world. And so is the Pensacola Bay Area, which expects a substantial economic boost with its new attraction.
"Pensacola will become an international diving attraction," said Ed Schroeder, vice president of tourism for the Penscola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce.
Schroeder recently mailed about 3,800 flyers to sporting goods and diving stores throughout the eastern United States. TV stations from France, newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times and some of the largest diving magazines in Europe have called Schroeder and other local officials about the Oriskany.
"I'm getting about 25 to 40 calls a day, from California to Georgia, Singapore, France -- all over," said Jim Phillips, co-owner of Pensacola-based MBT Divers.
Phillips already has a couple of hundred people signed up to dive as soon as permitted, about 48 to 96 hours after the sinking, which is scheduled to take place Wednesday.
Many of the callers said they plan to bring families and stay at least three days in the area, Phillips said. Some are hearing of Pensacola for the first time.
"There is a lot of opportunity for the area to grow, providing that we do it right," Phillips said. "Our focus now should be: What can we do to keep these divers and their families here for a few days?"
It is still too early to gauge the economic impact the ship will bring to the area.
The closest comparison to the Oriskany is the Spiegel Grove, a 510-foot Navy Landing Ship that became the most popular artificial wreck in the Florida Keys, where there already was a mature dive market when it was sunk in 2002.
About 20,000 people dive the Spiegel Grove per year, bringing an estimated economic boost of about $14 million each year for the Upper Keys, said Jackie Harder, president of Key Largo Chamber of Commerce.
"It got a lot more attention in the first year," she said.
There are fewer than 4,000 divers, including locals and visitors, in Escambia County each year, according to a 1998 study by Florida State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Some expect Pensacola's diving community to grow and to attract others from the region. Unlike the Keys, Pensacola is an easy drive from major metropolitan areas, such as Atlanta.
"The uptake is much larger here," said Anders Gustafson, who owned a dive shop in the West Palm Beach area and recently moved to start a new shop in Pensacola, even taking the shop's name from the Oriskany: Dive MightyO.
Gustafson recently launched the shop's Web site -- www.DiveMightyO.com -- and more than 100 small groups have already signed up on a priority list, Gustafson said.
Another local dive shop, Scuba Shack/Wet Dream Charters, is booked for every weekend through the end of the year, owner Gene Ferguson said.
Some area hotels already have arranged packages with dive shops.
"We have had a lot of inquiries about it," said Kathy Briske, general manager at the Comfort Inn at Pensacola Beach.
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www.artificial-reefs.blogspot.com
Pensacola News Journal
By Polyana da Costa
May 14, 2006
Thousands of divers worldwide expected to descend on reef
The Oriskany is to divers what Mount Everest is to climbers.
The 888-foot ship -- soon to be the only aircraft carrier sunk as a man-made artificial reef -- is about to be on top of the list of diving magazines throughout the world. And so is the Pensacola Bay Area, which expects a substantial economic boost with its new attraction.
"Pensacola will become an international diving attraction," said Ed Schroeder, vice president of tourism for the Penscola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce.
Schroeder recently mailed about 3,800 flyers to sporting goods and diving stores throughout the eastern United States. TV stations from France, newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times and some of the largest diving magazines in Europe have called Schroeder and other local officials about the Oriskany.
"I'm getting about 25 to 40 calls a day, from California to Georgia, Singapore, France -- all over," said Jim Phillips, co-owner of Pensacola-based MBT Divers.
Phillips already has a couple of hundred people signed up to dive as soon as permitted, about 48 to 96 hours after the sinking, which is scheduled to take place Wednesday.
Many of the callers said they plan to bring families and stay at least three days in the area, Phillips said. Some are hearing of Pensacola for the first time.
"There is a lot of opportunity for the area to grow, providing that we do it right," Phillips said. "Our focus now should be: What can we do to keep these divers and their families here for a few days?"
It is still too early to gauge the economic impact the ship will bring to the area.
The closest comparison to the Oriskany is the Spiegel Grove, a 510-foot Navy Landing Ship that became the most popular artificial wreck in the Florida Keys, where there already was a mature dive market when it was sunk in 2002.
About 20,000 people dive the Spiegel Grove per year, bringing an estimated economic boost of about $14 million each year for the Upper Keys, said Jackie Harder, president of Key Largo Chamber of Commerce.
"It got a lot more attention in the first year," she said.
There are fewer than 4,000 divers, including locals and visitors, in Escambia County each year, according to a 1998 study by Florida State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Some expect Pensacola's diving community to grow and to attract others from the region. Unlike the Keys, Pensacola is an easy drive from major metropolitan areas, such as Atlanta.
"The uptake is much larger here," said Anders Gustafson, who owned a dive shop in the West Palm Beach area and recently moved to start a new shop in Pensacola, even taking the shop's name from the Oriskany: Dive MightyO.
Gustafson recently launched the shop's Web site -- www.DiveMightyO.com -- and more than 100 small groups have already signed up on a priority list, Gustafson said.
Another local dive shop, Scuba Shack/Wet Dream Charters, is booked for every weekend through the end of the year, owner Gene Ferguson said.
Some area hotels already have arranged packages with dive shops.
"We have had a lot of inquiries about it," said Kathy Briske, general manager at the Comfort Inn at Pensacola Beach.
____
www.artificial-reefs.blogspot.com
posted by Pedro Caleja @ 10:30 AM
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