Oriskany and AOW

[mwhities]

Are there any dive shops in the Pensacola area that offer an AOW class(dives) on the Oriskany?

My brother-in-law is wanting to get his AOW and he wants to see about doing the deep/wreck portion on the Oriskany. Of course, I want to tag along too.

Would anyone know of one that might do this?

Michael

 

[ps1mhd]

Check and see if they are even diving it with the oil spill.
The eastern Gulf may be a no go for a very long time


Mike

 

[mwhities]

Check and see if they are even diving it with the oil spill.
The eastern Gulf may be a no go for a very long time


Mike

Yeah, been searching for it, but I haven't found anything yet. I'll start making calls tomorrow.

Thanks Mike.

Michael

 

[Standard11]

last i heard Dr. dive was the last boat making runs out to the O out of pcola and this was a few weeks ago i believe. but MBT in pcola i know offered an O trip with AOW. but this was pre-oil spill so im not too sure what is going on now. this is also just what ive heard from friends or from previous SB posts.

 

[mwhities]

last i heard Dr. dive was the last boat making runs out to the O out of pcola and this was a few weeks ago i believe. but MBT in pcola i know offered an O trip with AOW. but this was pre-oil spill so im not too sure what is going on now. this is also just what ive heard from friends or from previous SB posts.

Thanks. I tried to call MBT just a few minutes ago, but no answer. I'll call them first thing in the morning. I'll try Dr. Dive too.

Thanks.

Michael

 

[wjefferis]

All of the dive shops offer AOW on the Oriskany. However, there are really two problems you face when wanting to dive the "O" right now. The first problem is finding a boat right now that is willing to run out there. The second problem is that nobody can say for sure where the oil is and were it is not. There are millions of gallons of oil out there and there is no telling were and how big some of those sub surface oil plumes are. Just because you dont see them on the surface doesn't mean that there isn't any oil. I am most likely going to get flamed like crazy for saying this, but I think it is just not that safe to dive for at least a little while. If you don't have at least an enviromentally sealed first stage I would definately tell you to stay out. There is just no way I would take my Scubapro MK25 out there right now (not environmentally sealed). If I was to hit a sub surface oil plume with my first stage it could fail. I know that some people are taking folks out there and trying to dodge the oil the best they can, but that doesn't sound like the safest thing to jump into and definately not a good training environment. Just because there isn't any oil when you jump in, doesn't mean that there wont be any oil move in during your dive. There is a good reason that people are not really going out there and that is that it is a huge gamble on if it would be safe for the divers (basically a liability issue). I have talked with people who are out there in boats working for BP right now and they are all telling me to not only stay out of the water, but to stay the *&%$ out the water right now. Now that the well is capped I would just wait a few and see how things progress. Make sure that the environment that you are going to be jumping into is going to be as safe as it can be.

Let the flames begin...........

 

[mrmccoy]

All of the dive shops offer AOW on the Oriskany. However, there are really two problems you face when wanting to dive the "O" right now. The first problem is finding a boat right now that is willing to run out there. The second problem is that nobody can say for sure where the oil is and were it is not. There are millions of gallons of oil out there and there is no telling were and how big some of those sub surface oil plumes are. Just because you dont see them on the surface doesn't mean that there isn't any oil. I am most likely going to get flamed like crazy for saying this, but I think it is just not that safe to dive for at least a little while. If you don't have at least an enviromentally sealed first stage I would definately tell you to stay out. There is just no way I would take my Scubapro MK25 out there right now (not environmentally sealed). If I was to hit a sub surface oil plume with my first stage it could fail. I know that some people are taking folks out there and trying to dodge the oil the best they can, but that doesn't sound like the safest thing to jump into and definately not a good training environment. Just because there isn't any oil when you jump in, doesn't mean that there wont be any oil move in during your dive. There is a good reason that people are not really going out there and that is that it is a huge gamble on if it would be safe for the divers (basically a liability issue). I have talked with people who are out there in boats working for BP right now and they are all telling me to not only stay out of the water, but to stay the *&%$ out the water right now. Now that the well is capped I would just wait a few and see how things progress. Make sure that the environment that you are going to be jumping into is going to be as safe as it can be.

Let the flames begin...........

That makes perfect sense! I really wanted to dive the "O" this summer but I am not going to chance the money or my health to see it.

 

[evensplit]

Not flaming Walt, just trying to keep everyone informed.

There are a lot of locals still diving all around the Pensacola area, and none have reported having any problem with oil at or below the surface (there was one reported encounter early on in the crisis). So far, the divers that are getting out have reported some of the best diving conditions we've had in years.

We're getting water quality reports regularly, and while they don't cover the area of the Oriskany, they have been encouraging, with no significant hazards identified outside of visible oil. Air quality samples have also been good. The EPA and Coast Guard have stated that there's no reason to not put divers in the water outside of visibile oil.

I'm not challenging the fact that there is a possible threat out there, and I'm not encouraging anyone to go out and dive if they're not 100% comfortable.

Capt. Jim Meyers - Dr. Dive - has been running trips up until last week. He's on vacation now, and won't be running again until early August. When he or other boats return, MBT will be running advanced classes out to the Oriskany again - as long as it's safe!

 

[mike_s]

Not flaming Walt, just trying to keep everyone informed.

There are a lot of locals still diving all around the Pensacola area, and none have reported having any problem with oil at or below the surface (there was one reported encounter early on in the crisis).

Not sure if this was the one you were referring to "early on" or not, but there was a report of oil in the spearfishing section of the Pensacola Fishing Forum about I'd guess 4 weeks ago.

This is the only real report I've seen of oil on the Oriskany. (doesn't mean any of it is accurate. most of the reports I've read say "no oil" at the wreck site).

 

[mwhities]

<snip>

Now that the well is capped I would just wait a few and see how things progress. Make sure that the environment that you are going to be jumping into is going to be as safe as it can be.

I'm sure it will be a few more months before he decides to go ahead with the plan. I just told him I'd try to find someone that will do an AOW class and the dives be on the Oriskany, so no rush. Hopefully in a few months when he decides, everything will be "more" cleaned up.

Thanks for the post.

Michael