Hetland
Contributor
After three tries, XRay and I finally got out on a boat headed to the Oriskany. The wind and wave forecast was a little iffy, but Captain Mucci on the Y-Knot got us out to the wreck in one piece, and with all our teeth intact. The ride out was a bit chilly, and the wind was against us, so it was slow going.
Once on the wreck, the divemaster tied in, and we were all brimming with excitement. I splashed first at 9:09am so I could have extra time to work on my ears if necessary (it wasn't). Viz was variable, between 40 and 60 feet, and the water wasn't too cool (lowest temp was 59F) XRay and I went around the smokestack, and descended to the flight bridge, and continued further along the port side until we reached 126 feet, which brought us about even with the top of the flag bridge. We could see a few metal plates from the superstructure laying along the flight deck, along with schools of large barracuda, and a stone memorial just to the left of the superstructure. We resisted the temptation to continue to the flight deck, and swam our way around the flag bridge, and ascended to the nav bridge, then one deck above, and back along the port side again to the flight bridge and stack. We burned the rest of our tank at the top of the ship checking out sea cucumbers, soapfish, damsels, butterflyfish, grouper, snapper, amberjack, comb jellies, and hundreds of urchins. Total dive time was 32 minutes.
We got topside to find things a tad warmer, but still chilly. We spent our surface interval devouring bagels with peanut butter and honey that the crew thoughtfully prepared for us. It tastes about 100 times better than it sounds, and it quickly recharged our batteries.
Our second dive started at 10:44am. We made our way down the line, and found that viz had dropped off a bit but was still better than we had seen since December. We made a bee line to the flight bridge, and took turns doing a minor penetration. We then worked our way to the swim-through on the same deck, and made our way through that as well. Max depth was 119 and dive time was 27 minutes. We made our mid-way safety stop, and hung for about four minutes at twenty for our regular safety stop. Once on board the Y-Knot, we found the air temperature nicely warmed, and the wind slightly tamer. We had following seas on the way back to Pensacola, which made for a quick trip in.
We took our time unloading, and soaked up some rays at the dock. Three of us then went to McGuire's and reviewed photos and talked shop. The debriefing went very well, and friendships were strengthened over the good grub and fellowship.
All-in-all a great day with great friends.
Once on the wreck, the divemaster tied in, and we were all brimming with excitement. I splashed first at 9:09am so I could have extra time to work on my ears if necessary (it wasn't). Viz was variable, between 40 and 60 feet, and the water wasn't too cool (lowest temp was 59F) XRay and I went around the smokestack, and descended to the flight bridge, and continued further along the port side until we reached 126 feet, which brought us about even with the top of the flag bridge. We could see a few metal plates from the superstructure laying along the flight deck, along with schools of large barracuda, and a stone memorial just to the left of the superstructure. We resisted the temptation to continue to the flight deck, and swam our way around the flag bridge, and ascended to the nav bridge, then one deck above, and back along the port side again to the flight bridge and stack. We burned the rest of our tank at the top of the ship checking out sea cucumbers, soapfish, damsels, butterflyfish, grouper, snapper, amberjack, comb jellies, and hundreds of urchins. Total dive time was 32 minutes.
We got topside to find things a tad warmer, but still chilly. We spent our surface interval devouring bagels with peanut butter and honey that the crew thoughtfully prepared for us. It tastes about 100 times better than it sounds, and it quickly recharged our batteries.
Our second dive started at 10:44am. We made our way down the line, and found that viz had dropped off a bit but was still better than we had seen since December. We made a bee line to the flight bridge, and took turns doing a minor penetration. We then worked our way to the swim-through on the same deck, and made our way through that as well. Max depth was 119 and dive time was 27 minutes. We made our mid-way safety stop, and hung for about four minutes at twenty for our regular safety stop. Once on board the Y-Knot, we found the air temperature nicely warmed, and the wind slightly tamer. We had following seas on the way back to Pensacola, which made for a quick trip in.
We took our time unloading, and soaked up some rays at the dock. Three of us then went to McGuire's and reviewed photos and talked shop. The debriefing went very well, and friendships were strengthened over the good grub and fellowship.
All-in-all a great day with great friends.