USS Oriskany Diving Rules.

[chairmanTARAC]

Thanks for the info evensplit. A lot of communication has gone into this so far, Mooring bouys cost a lot of money to maintain and will probably be used by fisherman rather than dive operators. Remember, The more successful this is for escambia county and the navy the better opportunity it gives all states to get more navy ships for reefing.

 

[Tom Smedley]

She will be a very large reef with a comparitively small island for all those boats to share. I would be very surprised if the first fatality on the Oriskany is not a shooting victim.

 

[Diveral]

I don't expect to find a plethora of dive boats on site at any one time. Most of those boats will probably be fishermen.

 

[kchFLA]

Maybe some of the techies with scooters can do touch-n-go's in formation.

And those that really excel at the formations can form the Blue Angel Fish squad and do performance around the country. They can do it in conjunction with submarine races.

I cracked up when I read this.

 

[mike_s]

She will be a very large reef with a comparitively small island for all those boats to share. I would be very surprised if the first fatality on the Oriskany is not a shooting victim.

You know.... I didn't think of this, but you might be right.

I've actually seen fishermen point a shotgun at other fishermen teo tell them to "back off" their spot.

 

[mike_s]

One more thing Oriskany fans might be interested in. (Posting here since I didn't think it warranted a new thread and this seems to be the 'most recent' one).

The Pensacola Visitors Center is selling Oriskany posters. They are $5 each. Shipping available for another $5 bucks.

For more information see http://visitpensacola.com/static/index.cfm?contentID=129

For poster image, here ya go:

Also:

Oriskany Sweepstakes

Witness history in the making....register to win Pensacola's Oriskany Sweepstakes! It's so easy, just enter your information below for a chance to win lodging, 2 charter tickets, plus dinner for two.
http://visitpensacola.com/crm/index.cfm?action=ViewForm&FormID=11

 

[H2Andy]

hey, maybe they should wait to sell the poster until AFTER they sink her

you know... just in case

 

[mike_s]

hey, maybe they should wait to sell the poster until AFTER they sink her

you know... just in case

You know... when I was in Key Largo right after the sinking of the Speigel Grove, you could buy a t-shirt that said "I dove the Spiegel Grove" and they had the ship printed on it "upside down" as a joke. I thought that was pretty hilarious.




On a serious note: This was in the news today.


Published - April, 28, 2006

Navy explosives experts ready to sink the Oriskany


Troy Moon
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

March Madness was last month. But a group of Navy explosives experts are just now cooking up their own betting pool.

Not to see which team is tops in the land. But to see how quickly the 888-foot-long Oriskany sinks to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Robert Evans said Thursday that estimates are anywhere from 90 minutes to five hours.

"But let me get my slide rule out," Evans joked. "I think (it will sink) before two hours."

Evans' guess probably is better than most. The 24-year career Navy explosives expert is officer in charge of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 6 Detachment-Panama City, the unit that will sink the decommissioned aircraft carrier. The tentative date for the sinking is May 17.

Evans and his small team of Navy explosives experts plan to use about 500 pounds of explosives to sink the ship in 212 feet of water about 22.5 miles southeast of Pensacola Pass. The Oriskany is being sunk to become an underwater reef and diving destination.

On May 16 -- the day before the scheduled sinking -- Evans and his team will place explosives and detonation devices on 22 pipes and valves in the bottom of the ship. The plan is for the explosives, once detonated, to fracture the valves and surrounding piping, causing the 32,000-ton ship to slowly flood.

Evans said the Oriskany should settle flat on the Gulf bottom, leaving about 67 feet from the ship's highest point to the water surface.

For two years, Evans and his team have made frequent trips to the Oriskany to plan the ship's scuttling.

His unit, based at the Panama City Naval Support Activity, normally spends its time disposing of unexploded ordnance that washes up on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico and assisting local law enforcement when they handle explosive devices.

Evans said his team is up to the challenge of sinking the Oriskany -- and pretty revved up for the task.

"We don't get to sink an aircraft carrier every day," he said. "But the (demolition) part hasn't changed."

Evans and his team also will be the first divers to visit the sunken Oriskany. He said divers -- all EOD experts are trained divers -- will inspect the Oriskany within 24 hours of it being sunk.

"We'll see if it's sitting the way they want it," Evans said. "And we'll take some depth readings."

Security will keep recreational divers away from the Oriskany for at least 48 hours after it is sunk in case loose objects inside the ship float toward the surface

 

[Scubaguy62]

Don't know how the currents are in PNS, but it will surely be interesting to see how many "drift divers" end up down current , or how many end up surfacing a couple of hundred yards away because there was no ascent line, unless of course, the dive boats plan to anchor. Guess is why they require SSD's and wistles.

BTW, what happens if she doesn't sink upright? Maybe another Dennis will pay a visit to the area...

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

I believe the standard practice will be to tie-into the wreck. Fairly common practice around here.

The Navy has been sinking boats for longer than anyone else, if anyone can get it right...

There's alotta 'glass half empty' people here eh?