This update just in from Mat - original post updated too...
The all inclusive Oriskany Thread
The USS Oriskany was commissioned in 1950, after the end of WWII and at the beginning of the Korean War. She saw battle in both Korean and Vietnam Wars. She launched more aircraft and lost more pilots during the Vietnam War than any other carrier in the Navy. The Oriskany was decommissioned in 1976 and stricken from record in 1989. She's sat in one of the many floating boneyards until she was put up to be the first aircraft carrier to be deliberately sunk for use as an artificial reef where several states and cities rallied to bring her to their adjacent waters. Pensacola ended up winning the contract out, surely Pensacola being the cradle of naval aviation had a bit to do with it. The ship is ~900' long, ~150' wide, and ~150' high.
After several years of cleaning, stripping, hurricanes, and other delays; the former USS Oriskany was scuttled to form the largest artificial reef in the world on May 17th 2006. She sits upright, on a sandy bottom of 212'. The flight deck is in the 135' range leaving it and the entirety of the superstructure, which starts at 69', within recreational diving range. Longer forays around the superstructure and below it, will require technical training and gear. No matter what you are looking for in a dive, the Oriskany likely has something for you. Recreational, technical, spearfishing, photographers, sightseers looking for fish and coral, and historians will all have something to enjoy on this dive. Despite the ship only being down for a short period of time, there is quite a bit of growth and a tremendous amount of life that has enveloped her remains. Water visibility is generally good, but as anywhere else in the Gulf, that can change.
The Oriskany is now a major diving(and fishing) attraction for Pensacola, FL and Orange Beach, AL, while also getting boats from Fort Morgan and Destin areas. There are several charters running to the Oriskany and we'll be focusing mostly on those coming from Gulf Breeze, FL; Pensacola, FL; and those launching from Orange Beach, AL. As well as a brief description on what they are offering. Charters average $145-150 for a two tank dive on the Big "O". Technical trips, night dives, and three tank trips will cost extra more than likely. Most operators will require certain criteria be met before allowing you to dive the Oriskany. Most commonly 20 logged dives, AOW or equivalent dives, a couple dives in deeper than 80' within a set period of time, etc. Some of these criteria can be overcome if you are willing to dive with a DiveMaster during the dives, which will come with an additional expense. ScubaBoard has one of the most prolific of these divemasters posting on her board as OriskanyDiveMaster . This strip of the Gulf Coast is loaded with great operators, so chances are, most everyone will be happy with whoever they've dived the Oriskany with... I haven't dived with all these ops, nor will I vouch for all of them. Do some research on whoever you choose.
Just gonna line it up in alphabetical order...
Captain Ron runs a 6 pack out of Pensacola and will likely get you onsite quite fast. You can find his website at Pensacola Oriskany Scuba Dive Charters Underwater wedding ceremony marriage . Dude will even marry you out there if you're crazy enough to do it. MBT Divers will often charter through Captain Ron.
Daisy D runs another 6 pack, center console catamaran, which will also likely get out onsite quite fast and with a smoother ride due to the catamaran design. They launch out of Pensacola Beach(Gulf Breeze?). You can find more info at his website at http://www.southernoffshoreadventures.com/ He also posts here on ScubaBoard, as Daisy D. You can charter directly by calling Cheslie at 850-910-1644.
Dive Pros is a full service dive shop in Pensacola and can rent or sell you any gear necessary for the dives. They can fill nitrox and have several tank options for rentals(I think?). They charter through several operations in the area. You can find out more on their website Dive Pros
Down Under Dive Shop is a dive shop in Gulf Shores, AL. They rent and sell anything you'll need to get the dive in safely and fun. They can fill Nitrox(Nitrox stick) and rent tanks including HP100s(Al) I believe. The shop has their own dive boat, the Down Under, which is a large 46' Newton that can carry large groups of divers. Several of their staff post on ScubaBoard under various names and they are quite knowledgable on the local sites. You can find more info at their website Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Diving, Oriskany Dive - Down Under Dive Shop
Dr. Dive runs another center console catermaran 6 Pack out of the Pensacola area that will get you onsite quickly. His website is Dr Dive Pensacola, FL - Home of the USS Oriskany I believe he posts on ScubaBoard as Dr Dive and hopefully he'll find his way to this thread. You can charter directly or through Dive Pros in Pensacola, FL. Dr Dive is also the only person I know who'll teach the exclusive Oriskany Dive Specialty?? LOL
Due South Custom Charters has a 26 dusky runs as a six pak she has bean bag chairs 4 person min. Contact number is 565-7247(assuming PCola location with 850 area code?)
Gary's Gulf Diver is a full service dive shop in Orange Beach, AL. They can rent or sell you anything you need to dive whatever Gulf site you'd like to hit. He rents LP95s and HP100(Al) as well as the standard Al80 tanks. He can fill nitrox. Gary captains the Cat-N-Around, which is a 6 pack Cuddy Cabin catamaran that launches out of Orange Beach and makes quick work of trips to offshore sites, including the Oriskany. Its not uncommon that Gary or his divemaster cooks you up hotdogs, sausages, or even a freshly speared fish on the trip back from a set of dives. Gary posts here on ScubaBoard as algulfdiver and you can find more information on his site and charter at Gary's Gulf Divers, Full Service Dive Shops, Orange Beach, Alabama
Holy Spear-It is another smaller charter(6 pack?) out of Pensacola, FL and I believe you can book directly through them or through MBT Divers. I'm not sure if Kevin(captain) has a website up for his charter and I don't think he posts on ScubaBoard. He posts on MBT Divers forums quite a bit though. His contact number is 850-698-0827.
H20 Below is a 36' Newton dive boat that is capable of bring large groups of divers to the Oriskany from Pensacola. Great boat and great crew, expect hot dogs on the way back in, they get bragged on quite a bit. MBT Divers does most of its Oriskany charters through this boat, but you can also charter directly. More information can be found at their website Charter Boat H2O Below**** Pensacola Florida Captain Doug and DM Marcie both post on ScubaBoard on occassion. Hopefully they'll chime in shortly.
MBT Divers is a full service dive shop located in Pensacola. They charter through several boats in the Pensacola area. They can sell or rent you anything you need and they have tanks in various sizes and can fill Nitrox. They can also recommend cheap hotels to stay while in town diving. Thier website, and forum, can be found at MBT Divers Dive shop Pensacola, FL
R.J DIVES
They have a 48 steel custom glass bottom boat with twin diesels and also run a fast 32 aluminum 6 passenger boat with a full head with shower inside and out seating.
They are located just over the three mile bridge into Gulf Breeze coming from Pensacola. The dive shop and boats are the third building on the right with the big dive flag homepensacola Capt. Randy Johnson 850 598 3483
ScubaShack is located in downtown Pensacola and has a full dive shop with anything you need to rent or buy for a dive. They will fill nitrox. The shops boat is called the Wet Dream and carries large groups of divers. They are known for their hand cranked ice cream that gets enjoyed on the trip home. You can find more info at thier page at Scuba Shack
Tec Rec is another 6 pack launching out of the Pensacola area. The captain of this boat posts on MBT Diver's forum. Not sure if he posts here, nor if they have a website.
Underwater Works is a full service dive shop in Fairhope, AL that can fill any mix of Nitrox and rents 80s and HP100s. They used to charter through the Gulf Diver captained by Rusty Hensley. They've had some boat troubles and I'm not sure when it'll be worked out again. Still a great place to buy gear or rent it. More into at their website at Underwater Works...The Dive Shop of the Alabama Gulf Coast!
Viking Diving is yet another 6 pack running out of Pensacola. You can find more information at their website at Viking Diving Home
Y-Knot is a 6 pack cuddy cabined catamaran launching out of Pensacola, making the trip out to the Oriskany very quickly. Great operation thats been in the area for awhile, you can find more information at <meta name="verify-v1" content="UKey6cQRnkXjnHVujVlcFkUgfqlsx2+nGz526KrvtKU=" /> Blue Water Adventures . You can also be booked by calling Robin at 850-712-3259.
If anyone's missing PM me.
Mat
