Just got home a while ago from Gulf Shores, AL where my oldest daughter and I dove the Oriskany on Saturday. What an awesome trip. Before we boarded the boat the sky got black and thunder boomed. The captain looked at the storms on the radar and told us they were moving inland, and that we should be okay once we got offshore. Everyone on the charter decided the trip was a "GO." We got about three miles out and hit a few sprinkles, nothing heavy. The weather cleared and the sky was baby blue, seas...slight ripples. After an uneventful hour and one-half trip we arrived on site. There were seven other boats moored over the Oriskany, but a couple were getting ready to pull out. We got moored to the wreck and suited up. Visibility was between 75 and 100 feet. One of the divemasters said viz was over 100 feet but I could not see that far. All too quickly our bottom time and air was at the limit and we had to accend. What a great dive. You just do not realize how large the Oriskany is until you have been one it. By the time our surface interval was done there were only four boats on site. It was almost like having the wreck to ourselves. On our second dive we saw an octopus setting on a nest of eggs, and I took a picture of my daughter with the flags that have been hung on the Oriskany. She is working this summer at a Boy Scout camp as a lifeguard and is saluting the flags. It was truely an awesome dive and experience. I have never been that deep before and could have gone deeper except there was no need too. If you ever get a chance to dive the Mighty O, go for it. You will not regret the experience.
Ron Shephard
Ron Shephard
