The B.S. Parade failed, and so did South Florida politics.
I love it.
The FWC has voted to recommend the site off Pensacola for the Carrier Oriskany - for the second time.
Of note is that at DEMA, the "Dive Miami Alliance" managed to hoodwink PADI into sending an email to their pros asking them to lobby the FWC and the Florida Legislature to force the carrier to SE Florida - strongly intimating that if the FWC didn't recommend it go there, it wouldn't recommend anything.
Unfortunately, that was a lie. The FWC had already voted to place the carrier of Escambia county. Dive Miami has been running a "countdown clock" for over a year on their web site for deployment in SE Florida - the problem is that they NEVER HAD THE CARRIER nor a recommendation for its placement - yet they presented this as if it was a fait acccompli to many, both publically and to PADI. PADI fell for it and issued an "emergency" email request.
Just a couple of days later, after PADI got a LOT of calls and letters about this (including from me!) they rescinded this letter, "clarifying" that they had no preference on WHERE the carrier went. In my discussions with PADI, they stated quite clearly that they simply did not have the full story, and were pressed to issue the email as an "emergency"..... that they were hoodwinked became pretty clear when the retraction came a couple of days later.
Well, it appears that the BS artists lost. The FWC has voted to retain the Escambia County site.
Florida's bid will be for Escambia County, approximately 22 miles from the Pensacola Pass, and about the same distance or a bit more from the Destin Pass. The wreck will be a haven for both divers and fishermen, with diving available from the top of the tower at 50' down to the keel at well over 200'.
http://myfwc.com/whatsnew/03/oriskany3-st.html
I love it.
The FWC has voted to recommend the site off Pensacola for the Carrier Oriskany - for the second time.
Of note is that at DEMA, the "Dive Miami Alliance" managed to hoodwink PADI into sending an email to their pros asking them to lobby the FWC and the Florida Legislature to force the carrier to SE Florida - strongly intimating that if the FWC didn't recommend it go there, it wouldn't recommend anything.
Unfortunately, that was a lie. The FWC had already voted to place the carrier of Escambia county. Dive Miami has been running a "countdown clock" for over a year on their web site for deployment in SE Florida - the problem is that they NEVER HAD THE CARRIER nor a recommendation for its placement - yet they presented this as if it was a fait acccompli to many, both publically and to PADI. PADI fell for it and issued an "emergency" email request.
Just a couple of days later, after PADI got a LOT of calls and letters about this (including from me!) they rescinded this letter, "clarifying" that they had no preference on WHERE the carrier went. In my discussions with PADI, they stated quite clearly that they simply did not have the full story, and were pressed to issue the email as an "emergency"..... that they were hoodwinked became pretty clear when the retraction came a couple of days later.
Well, it appears that the BS artists lost. The FWC has voted to retain the Escambia County site.
Florida's bid will be for Escambia County, approximately 22 miles from the Pensacola Pass, and about the same distance or a bit more from the Destin Pass. The wreck will be a haven for both divers and fishermen, with diving available from the top of the tower at 50' down to the keel at well over 200'.
http://myfwc.com/whatsnew/03/oriskany3-st.html