Leejnd
Contributor
I arrived in Pensacola Thursday afternoon, having traveled there expressly for the purpose of diving the Oriskany.
I was booked to go out on the Y-Knot (http://www.bluwateradventures.com/Boat.html), a 29 ft. twin-hulled Pro Sports Kat. Id booked Eric Kline, aka Oriskany Divemaster on Scubaboard (http://www.oriskanydivemaster.com/) to provide me with personal dive master services. I recommend this option to anyone who heads out to visit the Oriskany, especially if, like me, you go there on your own without a buddy. It makes a world of difference having someone with you who knows exactly what to look for, and can take you around to show you the coolest things!
As it turns out, Eric is a full service divemaster in addition to his duties on the boat, he invited me to join him and his young daughter for dinner on Thursday night. This was a welcome invitation, since I was in town alone and would have had nothing to do that night other than sit in my hotel room and order room service. Joining us was Kelly, another crazy woman like myself whod traveled solo to Pensacola solely to dive the Oriskany, and would be part of our three-man team tomorrow. We had a fabulous dinner at the Fish House on the Pensacola shoreline, which is right at the same marina as the boat.
The next morning I arrived at the dock at 6:30 am. Along with us on the boat were Captain Dave and his divemaster Dana, and three gentlemen from Louisiana who were hell-bent on touching down on the flight deck. Not me the flight deck is at 130, and I was diving my first Nitrox dive, having just received my Nitrox certification, so I wasnt keen on pushing the oxygen toxicity limits. The Louisiana divers were diving air, so all they had to worry about was getting narced.
It was a stunning day for diving. The seas were flat, the sun was shining with just a few puffy clouds, and the temps were in the mid to high 60s, a perfect pre-spring Florida day. It took us just about an hour to power out to the Oriskany, during which conversation was spirited and fun. I couldnt have asked for a more entertaining group to dive with!
DIVE 1:
Location: Oriskany, Pensacola, Florida
Buddy(ies): Eric, Kelly
Time: 9:24 am
Gas: Nitrox 30.0%
Bottom Time: 25 min.
Max Depth: 107 fsw
Vis: 60-70 ft
Temp at depth: 61
I went in the water first, and waited for Eric and Kelly. There was no current, and to me the water felt quite comfortable certainly warmer than the 54 degrees Ive been diving in at home. It took us a little while to get down, as Kelly, who has only 12 dives, had a bit of a struggle.
As soon as I flipped over underwater I saw the Oriskany, and the sight was so impressive it almost took my breath away! Shes HUGE, and the visibility was so good that you could really get a feel for her immense proportions. The first thing I noticed was a scaffolding arm of some sort with flags on it floating eerily in the blue. We slowly descended to the tower, known as the island, at about 70 ft. Here I saw my first impressive marine life a school of the biggest barracuda Ive ever seen. Some of them had to be more than 3 ft in length! They werent swimming around rather, they were just hanging there in the water column, and displayed no fear of us humans. I swam right up to a huge one and hung there nose to nose with him, and he didnt even flinch. He had an impressive set of teeth!
We hung a bit back from the ship on this first dive, the better to take it all in before we moved in for close-ups. We began to swim around the tower, noticing features such as hatches into the tower control rooms, large tanks, ladders, various unidentifiable equipment, etc. Schools of large fish were swimming around her, including some enormous snappers of 3 ft. or greater. I also saw a number of amberjack, and schools of grouper. We descended further, getting down to my max depth of 107, and I could see the flight deck just below me at 130. I was truly stunned by the enormity of it all!
We moved in for some closer looks. The surfaces of the ship are beginning to be covered in a light brown grassy/algae looking stuff. Apparently there have been various cycles of marine life that have moved in, thrived for a while, then died off and evidence of one of these cycles was in the piles of scallop shells on various surfaces all dead and empty. Theyd moved in for a while, covered everything, and then all died off, leaving their perfectly shaped shells behind. These were very different from the scallops I see at home they were small shells, thin and perfectly shaped like the one on the Shell Oil gas station signs, unlike the huge, thick, encrusted scallop shells I have to hack out of the rocks and reefs at home when gathering scallops for dinner.
Kelly was having a few problems with buoyancy control, but I was feeling great this was my 59th dive, and my deepest dive so far, not to mention my first Nitrox dive. I let Eric give her some attention while I kept them in sight, but bopped around a bit to see things on my own. We moved back up to 80 ft, circling around the island twice, checking inside the large tanks on either end. I saw a few brightly colored tropical fish hanging around inside some smaller tanks. And then, much to my dismay, I was at 800 psi and it was time to head up. We did so slowly, continuing to take in the view as it receded below us. We did a safety stop on the anchor line, entertained by some very strange sort of jellyfish-like creatures that looked like long, transparent-white scarves with a jumble of dots in the middle, undulating through the water around us. I surfaced at exactly 500 psi.
By the time we got back on the boat, the Louisiana boys had already been there for some time. We enjoyed the sun during our surface interval, during which time I heard the stories of all the narcing that apparently was going on when they dropped down to the flight deck. Honestly, I dont see the draw of the flight deck, but apparently lots do. Maybe its a testosterone thing, but I just dont see the point of either pushing the ox tox limits or getting narced, not to mention the shorter bottom time, just to set foot on the big flat deck theres nothing more to see there than on the tower, in fact theres lots MORE to see all over the island than on the deck! But it was interesting to listen to their stories, anyway. I felt like I was at a college frat party, listening to stories of drunken escapades.
During our surface interval a couple other boats showed up, and started dropping divers in while we were waiting out our time. Id had some fear that all kinds of cattle boats would show up and Id be bumping elbows with a bunch of divers down there, but as it turned out I never even saw the other boats divers which was a good thing, because it was definitely very cool to be down there feeling like its just you and this enormous wreck, all to yourself.
After a 1:17 surface interval, we rolled back into the water at 11:07 am.
DIVE 2:
Location: Oriskany, Pensacola, Florida
Buddy(ies): Eric, Kelly
Time: 11:07 am am
Gas: Nitrox 30.6%
Bottom Time: 25 min.
Max Depth: 102 fsw
Vis: 50-60 ft
Temp at depth: 61
The current had kicked up a little bit and there were a few swells, but nothing that really impacted us. Also, the vis had dropped a little there were some particulates in the water, reducing the vis by maybe 10-15 ft. This time Kelly did much better in terms of getting down, and with her buoyancy control. We dropped down to the lower part of the island at 102 fsw and moved in for some closer looks at the surface of the tower. There I saw one of the strangest marine creatures Ive ever seen arrow crabs, clinging all over the surface. They are about the size of your palm with long, spindly legs and tiny bodies, and look for all the world like enormous daddy long-legs! Given how I feel about spiders, this was a very creepy site for me. Eric held one in his gloved hand to show us, but I just couldnt bring myself to touch one way too spider-like.
We moved up to about 90 fsw and checked out some of the hatches into the interior rooms. At one point, under Erics careful guidance, we actually entered the wreck, going through a large hatch into a control room of some sort. There were control panels and such along the walls, and that was very interesting to see. Eric shone his light through another hatch deeper into the ship, but we didnt penetrate any deeper than just this little swim-through room. It was my first experience in an overhead environment, which I realize might be considered controversial, but given the large proportions of the hatches into the room (there were two), the small room, the fact that there was plenty of ambient light, and the total guidance of Eric, I felt safe in doing it. I can just hear all you DIR folks sucking in your breath and cluck-clucking. Well, cluck away I had a ball, and I never felt in any danger. Eric was a fantastic divemaster, in total control at all times, and I felt confident enough in my own abilities and control to know I could pop right out of the room if I needed to. Plus, there was no debris or silt on the floor surface, so nothing to worry about in terms of visibility issues.
Once again I breathed my tank out faster than I would have liked I guess it was all the excitement of actually going inside the wreck. Kelly hit 800 psi at about the same time as I did, so we started our ascent, again watching the eerie sight of the Oriskany fading out beneath us.
We headed back to shore, arriving there just about 1:00 pm. This was a fabulous dive trip, allowing me to see things I would never normally have a chance to see underwater. The boat was very comfortable, with a roomy cabin down below for changing, and a fun and friendly Captain. And Eric did a fantastic job as Kelly's and my personal dive sherpa thanks Eric!
I was booked to go out on the Y-Knot (http://www.bluwateradventures.com/Boat.html), a 29 ft. twin-hulled Pro Sports Kat. Id booked Eric Kline, aka Oriskany Divemaster on Scubaboard (http://www.oriskanydivemaster.com/) to provide me with personal dive master services. I recommend this option to anyone who heads out to visit the Oriskany, especially if, like me, you go there on your own without a buddy. It makes a world of difference having someone with you who knows exactly what to look for, and can take you around to show you the coolest things!
As it turns out, Eric is a full service divemaster in addition to his duties on the boat, he invited me to join him and his young daughter for dinner on Thursday night. This was a welcome invitation, since I was in town alone and would have had nothing to do that night other than sit in my hotel room and order room service. Joining us was Kelly, another crazy woman like myself whod traveled solo to Pensacola solely to dive the Oriskany, and would be part of our three-man team tomorrow. We had a fabulous dinner at the Fish House on the Pensacola shoreline, which is right at the same marina as the boat.
The next morning I arrived at the dock at 6:30 am. Along with us on the boat were Captain Dave and his divemaster Dana, and three gentlemen from Louisiana who were hell-bent on touching down on the flight deck. Not me the flight deck is at 130, and I was diving my first Nitrox dive, having just received my Nitrox certification, so I wasnt keen on pushing the oxygen toxicity limits. The Louisiana divers were diving air, so all they had to worry about was getting narced.
It was a stunning day for diving. The seas were flat, the sun was shining with just a few puffy clouds, and the temps were in the mid to high 60s, a perfect pre-spring Florida day. It took us just about an hour to power out to the Oriskany, during which conversation was spirited and fun. I couldnt have asked for a more entertaining group to dive with!
DIVE 1:
Location: Oriskany, Pensacola, Florida
Buddy(ies): Eric, Kelly
Time: 9:24 am
Gas: Nitrox 30.0%
Bottom Time: 25 min.
Max Depth: 107 fsw
Vis: 60-70 ft
Temp at depth: 61
I went in the water first, and waited for Eric and Kelly. There was no current, and to me the water felt quite comfortable certainly warmer than the 54 degrees Ive been diving in at home. It took us a little while to get down, as Kelly, who has only 12 dives, had a bit of a struggle.
As soon as I flipped over underwater I saw the Oriskany, and the sight was so impressive it almost took my breath away! Shes HUGE, and the visibility was so good that you could really get a feel for her immense proportions. The first thing I noticed was a scaffolding arm of some sort with flags on it floating eerily in the blue. We slowly descended to the tower, known as the island, at about 70 ft. Here I saw my first impressive marine life a school of the biggest barracuda Ive ever seen. Some of them had to be more than 3 ft in length! They werent swimming around rather, they were just hanging there in the water column, and displayed no fear of us humans. I swam right up to a huge one and hung there nose to nose with him, and he didnt even flinch. He had an impressive set of teeth!
We hung a bit back from the ship on this first dive, the better to take it all in before we moved in for close-ups. We began to swim around the tower, noticing features such as hatches into the tower control rooms, large tanks, ladders, various unidentifiable equipment, etc. Schools of large fish were swimming around her, including some enormous snappers of 3 ft. or greater. I also saw a number of amberjack, and schools of grouper. We descended further, getting down to my max depth of 107, and I could see the flight deck just below me at 130. I was truly stunned by the enormity of it all!
We moved in for some closer looks. The surfaces of the ship are beginning to be covered in a light brown grassy/algae looking stuff. Apparently there have been various cycles of marine life that have moved in, thrived for a while, then died off and evidence of one of these cycles was in the piles of scallop shells on various surfaces all dead and empty. Theyd moved in for a while, covered everything, and then all died off, leaving their perfectly shaped shells behind. These were very different from the scallops I see at home they were small shells, thin and perfectly shaped like the one on the Shell Oil gas station signs, unlike the huge, thick, encrusted scallop shells I have to hack out of the rocks and reefs at home when gathering scallops for dinner.
Kelly was having a few problems with buoyancy control, but I was feeling great this was my 59th dive, and my deepest dive so far, not to mention my first Nitrox dive. I let Eric give her some attention while I kept them in sight, but bopped around a bit to see things on my own. We moved back up to 80 ft, circling around the island twice, checking inside the large tanks on either end. I saw a few brightly colored tropical fish hanging around inside some smaller tanks. And then, much to my dismay, I was at 800 psi and it was time to head up. We did so slowly, continuing to take in the view as it receded below us. We did a safety stop on the anchor line, entertained by some very strange sort of jellyfish-like creatures that looked like long, transparent-white scarves with a jumble of dots in the middle, undulating through the water around us. I surfaced at exactly 500 psi.
By the time we got back on the boat, the Louisiana boys had already been there for some time. We enjoyed the sun during our surface interval, during which time I heard the stories of all the narcing that apparently was going on when they dropped down to the flight deck. Honestly, I dont see the draw of the flight deck, but apparently lots do. Maybe its a testosterone thing, but I just dont see the point of either pushing the ox tox limits or getting narced, not to mention the shorter bottom time, just to set foot on the big flat deck theres nothing more to see there than on the tower, in fact theres lots MORE to see all over the island than on the deck! But it was interesting to listen to their stories, anyway. I felt like I was at a college frat party, listening to stories of drunken escapades.
During our surface interval a couple other boats showed up, and started dropping divers in while we were waiting out our time. Id had some fear that all kinds of cattle boats would show up and Id be bumping elbows with a bunch of divers down there, but as it turned out I never even saw the other boats divers which was a good thing, because it was definitely very cool to be down there feeling like its just you and this enormous wreck, all to yourself.
After a 1:17 surface interval, we rolled back into the water at 11:07 am.
DIVE 2:
Location: Oriskany, Pensacola, Florida
Buddy(ies): Eric, Kelly
Time: 11:07 am am
Gas: Nitrox 30.6%
Bottom Time: 25 min.
Max Depth: 102 fsw
Vis: 50-60 ft
Temp at depth: 61
The current had kicked up a little bit and there were a few swells, but nothing that really impacted us. Also, the vis had dropped a little there were some particulates in the water, reducing the vis by maybe 10-15 ft. This time Kelly did much better in terms of getting down, and with her buoyancy control. We dropped down to the lower part of the island at 102 fsw and moved in for some closer looks at the surface of the tower. There I saw one of the strangest marine creatures Ive ever seen arrow crabs, clinging all over the surface. They are about the size of your palm with long, spindly legs and tiny bodies, and look for all the world like enormous daddy long-legs! Given how I feel about spiders, this was a very creepy site for me. Eric held one in his gloved hand to show us, but I just couldnt bring myself to touch one way too spider-like.
We moved up to about 90 fsw and checked out some of the hatches into the interior rooms. At one point, under Erics careful guidance, we actually entered the wreck, going through a large hatch into a control room of some sort. There were control panels and such along the walls, and that was very interesting to see. Eric shone his light through another hatch deeper into the ship, but we didnt penetrate any deeper than just this little swim-through room. It was my first experience in an overhead environment, which I realize might be considered controversial, but given the large proportions of the hatches into the room (there were two), the small room, the fact that there was plenty of ambient light, and the total guidance of Eric, I felt safe in doing it. I can just hear all you DIR folks sucking in your breath and cluck-clucking. Well, cluck away I had a ball, and I never felt in any danger. Eric was a fantastic divemaster, in total control at all times, and I felt confident enough in my own abilities and control to know I could pop right out of the room if I needed to. Plus, there was no debris or silt on the floor surface, so nothing to worry about in terms of visibility issues.
Once again I breathed my tank out faster than I would have liked I guess it was all the excitement of actually going inside the wreck. Kelly hit 800 psi at about the same time as I did, so we started our ascent, again watching the eerie sight of the Oriskany fading out beneath us.
We headed back to shore, arriving there just about 1:00 pm. This was a fabulous dive trip, allowing me to see things I would never normally have a chance to see underwater. The boat was very comfortable, with a roomy cabin down below for changing, and a fun and friendly Captain. And Eric did a fantastic job as Kelly's and my personal dive sherpa thanks Eric!
