USS Oriskany - Dive Site Map of Florida & Bahamas from www.ScubaLessonsInc.com (sitios de interés)
Descripción del sitio
Location: 22.5NM 133* from Pensacola Pass. 32.7NM 236* from Destin.
GPS Coordinates: N30:02.6, W87:00.4 or 30*02'38"N Lat, 87*00'25"W Lon
Orientation: Sitting upright with bow facing South.
Depth: Bottom 212ft, Hangar deck 150ft, Flight deck 130ft, and Island 70ft.
This artist rendering has mooring balls, the ACTUAL WRECK/REEF DOES NOT.
only aircraft carrier accessible for the majority of SCUBA divers and the largest artificial reef ever created.
her sides where the abundance of marine life gathers in the many features of the top 20 ft of the ship. 120-130 ft is deep for a recreational diver and bottom times can be as short as 11 min (if all time is spent at 130ft). For technical divers diving Oriskany is a fairly shallow dive and an outstanding training site. With large overhead environments at only 150ft and a "false" bottom at 130ft the site is perfect for all training with air and nitrox, and introduction to trimix. We expect you to plan your dive and dive your plan. SCUBA diving is a safe sport if you follow your training, experience and judgment.
USS Oriskany reef, a long journey ending
fire in 1966. Sold for scrap in 1995 and taken back by the Navy in 1997. Solicited for an artificial reef in 2001 then awarded to Florida and Pensacola in 2003. Scheduled for sinking in 2004 but PCB and hurricanes delayed it until 2006. The depth gauge measurements on the Oriskany recorded by FWC divers on November 19, 2010 (3.5 years after deployment) were as follows, and as illustrated in the diagram below:
Flight deck = 145 feet at mid-island, increasing to 150 feet towards the bow, maybe greater
Top of forward bridge = 118 feet
Top of aft gun platform = 109 feet
Top of forward gun platform = 107 feet
Top deck level on island = 84 feet
Navigational clearance = 80 feet
Please use these depths as basic reference points to plan your dive based on your level of scuba training, experience, proficiency and equipment. All divers are reminded of the likelihood of changing conditions over time and are encouraged to speak with local dive shops to determine to most recent depths and conditions on the vessel. Since all dives are to be done as a buddy team, maximum depths should be planned based on the buddy with the lowest level of training, experience, proficiency and equipment.
