Wow the Oriskany was awesome. I have the highest respect for this wreck. I went into this experience thinking that some of those dive shops and charters are too paranoid about this dive, requiring AOW, x logged dives and making you dive with a guide. Although I don't think this is mandatory, I certainly pushed my personal limits and take this kind of diving very seriously. I'm not sure if I was narced or just nervous but at 120 my heart was racing and I had to try hard to keep it together. (Just being honest)
First dive was down to about 120 fsw for 25 minutes using LP 95 and 30% nitrox. The first 40 feet or so had a murk layer but vis opened up on the wreck and was reported as 50 ft +. The thermocline was gradual and I logged 76 deg at depth. On our second dive we stayed above 100 ft and my computer said it was 78 deg.
I was in total awe with this wreck, so I managed to snap a few pictures and see a few other cool things. I didn't feel comfortable about penetrating the wreck just yet, so perhaps on a future dive.
Oh one more thing. I had an interesting equipment failure on the first dive: a fin broke. Yep that pair of old Scuba Pro Gorillas finally gave out. Not a big deal, current wasn't bad so using the broken part as a hand-fin worked fine on the way up. I'm sure glad that I brought an extra pair of fins!
The crew of the H2O Below are fantastic and MBT was great too. They had the LP95's that I wanted and guided me on my nitrox selection taking extra care to get the mix just right.
Finally, my dive buddies were great and it was a pleasure to share this experience with you.
Hope the weather holds out for you folks. I'll be back as soon as I can!
