SuPrBuGmAn
Contributor
Oriskany
Mikey P and I arrived at Orange Beach Marina at 4:30AM Wed morning to start boarding the Gulf Diver, Capt'n'd by Rusty Hensley, for a day of fun. Another local from the area, Randy S, and two videographer/divers from Huntsville, AL were also on the boat. After all the gear was loaded up we were underway by 5:30ish with a slight glow on the horizon.
Seas were calm at 1-2' and there wasn't a cloud in the sky as the sun rose up from behind some condo's in Perdido Key while we zipped southwest from Perdido Pass into the Gulf towards the Oriskany. 10 miles from the Oriskany we could spot the superstructure, but the curvature of the earth blocked the flight deck. By 7 miles, we could see the entire length of the ship anchored north/south. The Coasties kept a mile perimeter around the vessel and there wer 4 large tugs around her and a few cutters circling. We rounded the perimeter on the south and anchored on the East side of the wreck so that the sun illuminated her. The west side was in shadow. It was a boat show out on the gulf for the sinking and I have no idea how many hundred boats of all shapes and sizes were out to see the Oriskany sink. 10AM had been the established sinking time, but it ended up being around 10:30 because of a small seaplane in the no fly zone around the boat. Charges flashed and smoked started to appear from the hangar areas and superstructures even before the "Boom" reached our position. We didn't think we'd see much from the explosion as most of it would happen fairly deep UW. It was a pleasant suprise to see a flash to go with the big bang! The Oriskany sank pretty evenly for the first 10-15 minutes but it was clear that the sinking wouldnt take the 5-10 hours that most had estimated. Her stern started to sink a bit quicker and the boat listed to port. and the stern dropped completely under putting the bow in the air. Once she was nose up she listed starboard and seemed to begin to correct as she slipped underneath the surface leaving a towering plume of bubbles and water. Awesome!
I had read an interview on one of the Navy demo guys that were working the sinking and he was saying that they were all taking bets on the time it would take for her to go down. He had put his money on 30 min, so he knew what was up!
The big question was whether or not she settled upright or at a list. Later in the day I had talked to Chas B, the owner of Underwater Works in Daphne, who was on his personal boat that day and he said he heard on the radio that reports had come in that the boat sat upright.
Born Again Tug
We hung around the Oriskany site a little while to let the traffic clear before heading out for some diving. Seas had picked up to 3-5'(occasionally bigger) so the boat made headway slowly and most of us tried to get some sleep on deck. Seas were rough so we opted for a bouy dive. Mikey P and Randy S dropped off first followed by myself almost immediately afterwards. We would all be spearfishing and were on the tug fairly quickly. There was a ton of fish on the boat, but there wasn't a whole lot to pick from in the legal size range so we spent most of the dive sightseeing. The Born Again tug's hull is intact and upright, but the superstructure has been ripped off alllowing easy entry into the hull. The bumpers are still on the boat as well as a staircase that still protrudes upwards to nothing. Lots of small AJs and snappers on the site as well as trigger, sheepshead, and tropicals. I maxed out at 105' for a total dive time of 22min including a small safety stop. As we ascended, we saw the videographers heading down below with big hulking UW video equipment - nifty! Visibility was 30-40' and temps on bottom were 68F and mid 70sF shallow.
Dutch Banks
After a SI of 2 hours and change, we were back in the water after another slow ride out to the Dutch Banks. Seas had slackened a bit to 2-4' but we still opted for a bouy dive as it was still quite bumpy. The Dutch Banks are a natural limestone reef with 2-3' of relief off a sandy bottom. The site contains some interesting corals and lots of anenomes as well as fish. Randy S and one of the video guys dropped down first(the other opted to stay on board). Mikey P and I descended shortly afterwards. Seems like a great site to shoot pictures or video at, especially macro. The reef is small and we circled it a few times enjoying the life around it. We saw pretty much the same fish as we saw on the Born Again. Visibility was 20-25 with similar water temps as our previous dive. I hit a max depth of 77' for a total dive time of 30min including safety stop. I took a nice sized triggerfish and Mikey P took a nice Mangrove.
The seas on the way in had pretty much dropped back down to 1-3' making our ride back in much more comfortable. We were unloaded and talking about the trip by 5PM back at Orange Beach Marina and everyone had a good time. We thanked Rusty for the trip and headed to Tacky Jack for burgers and seafood.
I'll have pics up later
Just uploaded to the computer and I have to get to work, ugh!
Mikey P and I arrived at Orange Beach Marina at 4:30AM Wed morning to start boarding the Gulf Diver, Capt'n'd by Rusty Hensley, for a day of fun. Another local from the area, Randy S, and two videographer/divers from Huntsville, AL were also on the boat. After all the gear was loaded up we were underway by 5:30ish with a slight glow on the horizon.
Seas were calm at 1-2' and there wasn't a cloud in the sky as the sun rose up from behind some condo's in Perdido Key while we zipped southwest from Perdido Pass into the Gulf towards the Oriskany. 10 miles from the Oriskany we could spot the superstructure, but the curvature of the earth blocked the flight deck. By 7 miles, we could see the entire length of the ship anchored north/south. The Coasties kept a mile perimeter around the vessel and there wer 4 large tugs around her and a few cutters circling. We rounded the perimeter on the south and anchored on the East side of the wreck so that the sun illuminated her. The west side was in shadow. It was a boat show out on the gulf for the sinking and I have no idea how many hundred boats of all shapes and sizes were out to see the Oriskany sink. 10AM had been the established sinking time, but it ended up being around 10:30 because of a small seaplane in the no fly zone around the boat. Charges flashed and smoked started to appear from the hangar areas and superstructures even before the "Boom" reached our position. We didn't think we'd see much from the explosion as most of it would happen fairly deep UW. It was a pleasant suprise to see a flash to go with the big bang! The Oriskany sank pretty evenly for the first 10-15 minutes but it was clear that the sinking wouldnt take the 5-10 hours that most had estimated. Her stern started to sink a bit quicker and the boat listed to port. and the stern dropped completely under putting the bow in the air. Once she was nose up she listed starboard and seemed to begin to correct as she slipped underneath the surface leaving a towering plume of bubbles and water. Awesome!
I had read an interview on one of the Navy demo guys that were working the sinking and he was saying that they were all taking bets on the time it would take for her to go down. He had put his money on 30 min, so he knew what was up!
The big question was whether or not she settled upright or at a list. Later in the day I had talked to Chas B, the owner of Underwater Works in Daphne, who was on his personal boat that day and he said he heard on the radio that reports had come in that the boat sat upright.
Born Again Tug
We hung around the Oriskany site a little while to let the traffic clear before heading out for some diving. Seas had picked up to 3-5'(occasionally bigger) so the boat made headway slowly and most of us tried to get some sleep on deck. Seas were rough so we opted for a bouy dive. Mikey P and Randy S dropped off first followed by myself almost immediately afterwards. We would all be spearfishing and were on the tug fairly quickly. There was a ton of fish on the boat, but there wasn't a whole lot to pick from in the legal size range so we spent most of the dive sightseeing. The Born Again tug's hull is intact and upright, but the superstructure has been ripped off alllowing easy entry into the hull. The bumpers are still on the boat as well as a staircase that still protrudes upwards to nothing. Lots of small AJs and snappers on the site as well as trigger, sheepshead, and tropicals. I maxed out at 105' for a total dive time of 22min including a small safety stop. As we ascended, we saw the videographers heading down below with big hulking UW video equipment - nifty! Visibility was 30-40' and temps on bottom were 68F and mid 70sF shallow.
Dutch Banks
After a SI of 2 hours and change, we were back in the water after another slow ride out to the Dutch Banks. Seas had slackened a bit to 2-4' but we still opted for a bouy dive as it was still quite bumpy. The Dutch Banks are a natural limestone reef with 2-3' of relief off a sandy bottom. The site contains some interesting corals and lots of anenomes as well as fish. Randy S and one of the video guys dropped down first(the other opted to stay on board). Mikey P and I descended shortly afterwards. Seems like a great site to shoot pictures or video at, especially macro. The reef is small and we circled it a few times enjoying the life around it. We saw pretty much the same fish as we saw on the Born Again. Visibility was 20-25 with similar water temps as our previous dive. I hit a max depth of 77' for a total dive time of 30min including safety stop. I took a nice sized triggerfish and Mikey P took a nice Mangrove.
The seas on the way in had pretty much dropped back down to 1-3' making our ride back in much more comfortable. We were unloaded and talking about the trip by 5PM back at Orange Beach Marina and everyone had a good time. We thanked Rusty for the trip and headed to Tacky Jack for burgers and seafood.
I'll have pics up later
Just uploaded to the computer and I have to get to work, ugh!
