Hi All:
I've always loved wreck diving, the history of a ship, the circumstances surrounding a "loss," the "lure" of what you can find. Because of that, "artificial" wrecks have never really attracted me. Yeah, I've dived them (mostly for spear fishing), but would I prefer to dive them? Until recently, NO. My perspective changed with the placement of the USS Oriskany off Pensecola. A USN carrier on the bottom? The only other place you can see THAT is Bikini Atoll and, well, it's more than just a weekend trip... So, the Oriskany is now on my list of "MUST do dives."
Keeping that in mind, I started thinking about a similar size project for the east coast. The Navy recently sank the America in deep water and a number of smaller USN ships are located deep, but none really have the lure of something BIG that is not purely a trimix dive. Then I got to thinking. What's located on the east coast, available and BIG? Answer - the SS United States.
For those of you who don't know about this ship, she was laid down by Newport News Ship Building in 1950, went into service in 1952, did trans-Atlantic passenger service during the 50s and 60s and was eventually laid up in 1969 because of air travel. During the last 38 years, the SS United States has been tied to numerous piers (including one in Norfolk where I had the opportunity to tour her), involved in just about every type of "scheme" to return her to service and is now owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines. She currently sits tied to a dock in Philadelphia, slowly rusting. Supposedly, NCL will be "restoring" the ship to service, but recent experiences by the line with other "old" restored steam ships puts this into question. According to some sources, the United States is now FOR SALE again.
The SS United States is 990 FT long, has a beam of 106 FT and displaces 53,329 tons. From keel to steam whistle, she measures 175 FT high. For comparison, the USS Oriskany is 904 FT long, 129 FT wide, 140 FT tall and displaced 30,800 tons. An interesting fact about the United States is that $50 million of her original $78 million construction cost was paid for by the US Government and the ship was built to USN specifications. This included a set of "secret" steam turbines that drove the ship at an "official" top speed of 38 knots. Some have claimed she could actually do 43 knots if pushed. It seems the US envisioned her as a quick way to get troops over to Europe during the Cold War, if they were ever needed.
Several "Save the SS United States" groups are out there, most wanting her to become a museum ship or to be fully restored as a trans-Atlantic carrier. None have been successful at doing this. Year after year, the ship just sits at piers, unopened to the public, unlikely to sail again and MOST likely to end up on a ship breaker's beach somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Contrast that with the SS United States sitting on a nice sandy bottom in the ocean she used to sail somewhere between New York and Norfolk where thousands of divers could happily visit her every year. Given the size of the ship, it would need about 230 FSW, meaning the top of the funnels would be at 60 FT, the "upper decks" at around 110 FT and the "main deck" at around 150 FT. Certainly deep, but not THAT deep. I know, I know, Florida would probably be a better location but the United States never sailed those waters. Just like the Andrea Doria, she was a North Atlantic ship.
So, anyone have any ideas about how to get people interested in making the SS United States an "artificial reef?" I know it wouldn't be easy but as the name of this thread says,
THAT would be a DIVE!
I've always loved wreck diving, the history of a ship, the circumstances surrounding a "loss," the "lure" of what you can find. Because of that, "artificial" wrecks have never really attracted me. Yeah, I've dived them (mostly for spear fishing), but would I prefer to dive them? Until recently, NO. My perspective changed with the placement of the USS Oriskany off Pensecola. A USN carrier on the bottom? The only other place you can see THAT is Bikini Atoll and, well, it's more than just a weekend trip... So, the Oriskany is now on my list of "MUST do dives."
Keeping that in mind, I started thinking about a similar size project for the east coast. The Navy recently sank the America in deep water and a number of smaller USN ships are located deep, but none really have the lure of something BIG that is not purely a trimix dive. Then I got to thinking. What's located on the east coast, available and BIG? Answer - the SS United States.
For those of you who don't know about this ship, she was laid down by Newport News Ship Building in 1950, went into service in 1952, did trans-Atlantic passenger service during the 50s and 60s and was eventually laid up in 1969 because of air travel. During the last 38 years, the SS United States has been tied to numerous piers (including one in Norfolk where I had the opportunity to tour her), involved in just about every type of "scheme" to return her to service and is now owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines. She currently sits tied to a dock in Philadelphia, slowly rusting. Supposedly, NCL will be "restoring" the ship to service, but recent experiences by the line with other "old" restored steam ships puts this into question. According to some sources, the United States is now FOR SALE again.
The SS United States is 990 FT long, has a beam of 106 FT and displaces 53,329 tons. From keel to steam whistle, she measures 175 FT high. For comparison, the USS Oriskany is 904 FT long, 129 FT wide, 140 FT tall and displaced 30,800 tons. An interesting fact about the United States is that $50 million of her original $78 million construction cost was paid for by the US Government and the ship was built to USN specifications. This included a set of "secret" steam turbines that drove the ship at an "official" top speed of 38 knots. Some have claimed she could actually do 43 knots if pushed. It seems the US envisioned her as a quick way to get troops over to Europe during the Cold War, if they were ever needed.
Several "Save the SS United States" groups are out there, most wanting her to become a museum ship or to be fully restored as a trans-Atlantic carrier. None have been successful at doing this. Year after year, the ship just sits at piers, unopened to the public, unlikely to sail again and MOST likely to end up on a ship breaker's beach somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Contrast that with the SS United States sitting on a nice sandy bottom in the ocean she used to sail somewhere between New York and Norfolk where thousands of divers could happily visit her every year. Given the size of the ship, it would need about 230 FSW, meaning the top of the funnels would be at 60 FT, the "upper decks" at around 110 FT and the "main deck" at around 150 FT. Certainly deep, but not THAT deep. I know, I know, Florida would probably be a better location but the United States never sailed those waters. Just like the Andrea Doria, she was a North Atlantic ship.
So, anyone have any ideas about how to get people interested in making the SS United States an "artificial reef?" I know it wouldn't be easy but as the name of this thread says,
THAT would be a DIVE!
