USS Oriskany scuba diving review ‘You can float around it like you are a bird’ May 27, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : WreckDiving , trackback
Following the sinking of the USS Oriskany to create the world’s largest artificial reef, and the excellent photos of the wreck by the first divers able to scuba dive the wreck, there are now reports coming out about just good a dive it is.
In an article at Pensacola News Journal.com, Polyana da Costa interviewed some of the divers who have been lucky enough to dive the USS Oriskany.
Experienced divers and those recently certified couldn’t control their excitement.“I didn’t sleep all night thinking about it,” Gary Schnurer, a dive-control specialist, said before he got in the water.
“We’ve been preparing for it for a while,” said Debbie Coon, 43, of Milton.
Coon and her husband, Freddy, earned their certifications last month.
After about 15 minutes in the water, they returned to the surface.
“I’m thrilled,” Freddy Coon said.
“It is breathtaking,” Chris Hagler, 39, of Mississippi said after his 12-minute dive. “You can float around it like you are a bird. If you thought it was huge when you looked at it from land, it’s a lot bigger when you look down at it.”
Divers said the aircraft carrier — which sits upright at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico — could be spotted when they descended about 20 feet.
Many said the ship already has attracted some marine life.
Dominic Greco, 40, of Gainsville spotted a couple of red snapper.
“Once it starts to get encrusted and it attracts more fish, it will be a really cool dive,” he said. Greco also is a cave diver and has logged about 800 dives. He said he almost reached the flight deck during a second dive, which he believed was at about 137 feet.
For those who don’t understand the magic of diving, Chris Bridges, 42, can explain.
“You simply feel so tiny when you’re there,” Bridges, of Gulf Breeze, said.
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USS Oriskany scuba diving review ‘You can float around it like you are a bird’
USS Oriskany gets rave reviews
[…] The USS Oriskany is the largest artifical reef in the world. It is a decommissioned US aircraft carrier and was sank on 17th May 2006. I have read many reports about the wreck and the fact that the flight deck is at a depth of around 130 ft (40mtrs) is somewhat of a disadvantage. It seems that some divers are viewing that as a challenge, but it is at a depth where single cylinders just don’t give you any time at all. Indeed, with a bottom time of 12 minutes, what is the point? The tower is at around 70ft (20 mtrs) which still is at the limit of the basic open water qualified scuba diver. […]