Congratulations Florida - Oriskany Sunk Today

http://abcnews.go.com/US/print?id=1974236

Aircraft Carrier Sunk in Gulf of Mexico
Aircraft Carrier Sunk in Gulf of Mexico to Create Artificial Reef
By MELISSA NELSON
The Associated Press

IN THE GULF OF MEXICO - As hundreds of veterans looked on solemnly, the
Navy blew holes in a retired aircraft carrier and sent the 888-foot USS
Oriskany to the bottom of the sea Wednesday, creating the world's
largest manmade reef.

The rusted hulk took 37 minutes to slip beneath the waves, about 4 1/2
hours faster than predicted, after more than 500 pounds of plastic
explosives went off with bright flashes of light and clouds of brown
and gray smoke.

Korean and Vietnam War veterans aboard a flotilla of 300 charter boats
watched from beyond a one-mile safety perimeter as the "Mighty O" went
down in 212 feet of water, about 24 miles off Pensacola Beach.

Lloyd Quiter of North Collins, N.Y., who served four tours on the ship
in Vietnam, played the attention-all-hands signal on his boatswain's
pipe, and wept.

"I'm a little stunned. It's a little hard to take," he said.

After the blasts, an acrid smell hung in the air near the ship. The
carrier went down stern first, the bow lifting up into the air and
creating a giant spray of water as it came down. The blue ocean churned
a foamy white as the deck bright orange with rust slid under. Hundreds
of surrounding boats blew their horns in tribute.

The Oriskany (pronounced oh-RISK-uh-nee) became the first vessel sunk
under a Navy program to dispose of old warships by turning them into
diving attractions teeming with fish and other marine life.

Over the years, other ships have been turned into reefs, including the
warship USS Spiegel Grove, a cargo vessel that was scuttled in 2002 off
Key Largo. But that was a civilian project, paid for with a combination
of county and private money.

Jack Witter of Fort Pierce, who served as an aviation ordnance operator
during the Korean War, joined 34 other veterans to watch the Oriskany
go down. The group saluted as the ship vanished underwater.

"I felt good about it," Witter said. "I guess there was a little tear
in my eye because a good part of my life went down with her, but it was
a fitting end for a good ship."

The Oriskany, commissioned in 1950 and named after an American
Revolutionary War battle, saw duty during the Korean War and was home
to John McCain when the Navy pilot and future senator served in
Vietnam. It was also among the ships used by President Kennedy in a
show of force during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. It was
decommissioned in 1976.

McCain was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 after taking off from the
Oriskany and was held as a prisoner of war for five years.

"It was a small, old carrier that fought very valiantly, and I'm very
proud to have been a part of the air wing that served with great
courage and distinction," McCain told CNN on Wednesday.

McCain said he had hoped the ship would be turned into a museum, but
the artificial reef will "provide a lot of recreation and a lot of good
times for people."

The $20 million sinking was delayed for nearly two years by hurricanes
and environmental permitting problems. The ship will not be open to
recreational divers until at least Friday, so that Navy divers can
explore the wreck and check for any hazards.

The Environmental Protection Agency in February approved the sinking of
the ship, which had toxins in its electrical cables, insulation and
paint. EPA officials said the toxins will slowly leach out over the
estimated 100 years it will take the carrier to rust away, and should
pose no danger to marine life.

Marine wildlife experts planned to monitor the waters.

Local leaders hope the reef brings a long-awaited economic infusion
from sport divers and fishermen. A 2004 Florida State University study
estimated Escambia County would see $92 million a year in economic
benefits from an artificial reef.

"Alan Street" <agstreet@nonono_san.rr.com> wrote in message
news:170520061815483366%agstreet@nonono_san.rr.com ...

> http://abcnews.go.com/US/print?id=1974236

> Aircraft Carrier Sunk in Gulf of Mexico
> Aircraft Carrier Sunk in Gulf of Mexico to Create Artificial Reef
> By MELISSA NELSON
> The Associated Press

<snip>

Far better way to go than the way the World Trade Center went.

A sword beat into a plowshare.

On 18 May 2006 06:59:04 -0700, "Al Wells" <al.wells@gmail.com> wrote:

>Navy and NOAA guys are going to dive it today, and if all is well it
>could be open for diving this weekend. It has been reported that
>sidescan images indicate that it is upright.

Glad to hear that she is upright. From the videos of the sinking shown
it appeared she might have been listing to starboard slightly as she
went down.

Have you seen any U/W photos posted from the inspection dives?


Rick Simms
************************************************** *************
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”

Winston Churchill

Rick Simms wrote:

> Have you seen any U/W photos posted from the inspection dives?

No word at all yet on inspection dives - I don't even know if they
happened. AUE Mike is on the inspection team, and it is expected that
he will let the community know what's up as soon as he can.

"Al Wells" <al.wells@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1147975825.100255.223500@i39g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
>
> Rick Simms wrote:
>
> > Have you seen any U/W photos posted from the inspection dives?
>
> No word at all yet on inspection dives - I don't even know if they
> happened. AUE Mike is on the inspection team, and it is expected that
> he will let the community know what's up as soon as he can.

Cool.

Mike is a great guy.

On 18 May 2006 11:10:25 -0700, "Al Wells" <al.wells@gmail.com> wrote:

>
>Rick Simms wrote:
>
>> Have you seen any U/W photos posted from the inspection dives?
>
>No word at all yet on inspection dives - I don't even know if they
>happened. AUE Mike is on the inspection team, and it is expected that
>he will let the community know what's up as soon as he can.

Tks for the update.

Rick Simms

"California, the only state where a high school can
issue a kid a condom then expels him for praying for a
chance to use it."

In article <amhp62drdjq26vtvt5vvn04iquhq4kh9v4@4ax.com>,
simms01.nospam@iglou.com says...
>
> Tks for the update.

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradent...s/14612106.htm

Navy divers inspect Oriskany site
MELISSA NELSON
Associated Press

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Anxious divers got their first look at the USS
Oriskany Thursday, reporting that the ship landed in an upright position
facing north to south when the Navy used explosives to sink the massive
aircraft carrier a day earlier.

"All I could think was 'Holly cow,' just the sheer size of it. Diving it
was far beyond what I had imagined," said Jim Phillips, who owns a
Pensacola dive shop and had a contract to retrieve cameras The Discovery
Channel placed aboard the ship during the sinking.

The divers brought their own video of the site back to the MBT Dive Shop
late Thursday and other divers, anxious to see the Oriskany underwater
for themselves, gasped as they saw the underwater water images of the
famed carrier's bridge and battle stations.

"Oh it looks like that's going to be a fun dive. She's going to hold so
many fish in all those nooks and crannies," said shop employee Paul
Sjordal.

Navy divers were the first to dive the Oriskany early Thursday and
issued their first reports around noon EST, said Patrick Nichols, a
spokesman for Pensacola Naval Air Station.

The Navy said the Oriskany's flight deck was positioned at a depth of
150 feet as the ship settled into the sand.

But Phillips and his crew said their dive instruments indicated the
flight deck at a depth of between 130 and 134 feet.

"We had several computers and dropped right down to the flight deck,"
said diver Fritz Sharar.

The site was expected to be opened for recreational diving Friday
afternoon.

The depth of the flight deck is important because the maximum depth for
recreation sport divers is about 132 feet, said Eilene Beard, a dive
shop owner and Pensacola native who donated $25,000 in retirement
savings to help the community promote the Oriskany project.

The first official reports of the 150-foot depth of the flight deck were
a disappointment to Beard.

"The maximum sport diving depth is 132 feet and we'd hoped it wouldn't
go below that, but there will be plenty of superstructure along the
wheel house for sport divers," Beard said.

Divers who go beyond the 132-foot depth must be qualified in technical
diving and breathe a combination of gases to reach the extended depths,
she said.

The Navy sunk the massive Korean and Vietnam era aircraft carrier
Wednesday morning 24 miles off the coast of Pensacola as a flotilla of
boats filled with hundreds of Oriskany veterans watched. Many saluted as
the Oriskany dipped below the ocean.

The ship, known as the "Mighty O" was the first warship sunk under a
pilot program to dispose of old Navy vessels through reefing. The $20
million sinking was delayed for nearly two years by hurricanes and
environmental permitting problems.

Pensacola leaders hope the sinking will provide an economic infusion by
luring sport divers and fishermen.

The Oriskany, commissioned in 1950 and named after an American
Revolutionary War battle, saw duty during the Korean War and was home to
John McCain when the Navy pilot and future senator served in Vietnam. It
was also among the ships used by President Kennedy in a show of force
during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. It was decommissioned in 1976.

Phones rang nonstop at the MBT dive shop Thursday afternoon with
customers who wanted to book trips to the Oriskany dive site.

Shop employee William Murphy said divers from Ireland, South Africa and
New Zealand have made plans to dive the Oriskany this year.

Friends Sean McLemore and Frank Warfield of Pensacola were in the dive
shop on Thursday finalizing their plans to dive the aircraft carrier on
Sunday.

"We want to be one of the first to touch flight deck. It will be amazing
to dive something that size, something so big. We've been waiting for
this for three years," McLemore said.

In article <f1cp62tb4rg5p92v40k933gq3g0qcqnat9@4ax.com>,
simms01.nospam@iglou.com says...
> Have you seen any U/W photos posted from the inspection dives?

AUE Mike says the deck is at 137' and the top of the island is at 71'.
He posted some pics on TDS, and will probably have some on the UWEX
website http://uwex.us/ shortly.

While you're at it, check out Mike's book on FL shipwrecks - it is well
written, has good photographs, and has real verified GPS locations. The
location information alone is worth the price of the book.

http://uwex.us/shipwreckbook.htm


al

On Fri, 19 May 2006 09:54:03 GMT, Al Wells <al.wells@gmail.com> wrote:

>In article <f1cp62tb4rg5p92v40k933gq3g0qcqnat9@4ax.com>,
>simms01.nospam@iglou.com says...
>> Have you seen any U/W photos posted from the inspection dives?
>
>AUE Mike says the deck is at 137' and the top of the island is at 71'.
>He posted some pics on TDS, and will probably have some on the UWEX
>website http://uwex.us/ shortly.
>
>While you're at it, check out Mike's book on FL shipwrecks - it is well
>written, has good photographs, and has real verified GPS locations. The
>location information alone is worth the price of the book.
>
>http://uwex.us/shipwreckbook.htm
>
>
>al

Here's a clip from the Pensacola News Journal of the inspection dive.
Thanks for the links to Mikes pic's.

http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/...VIDEO/60518019

Rick Simms
************************************************** *************
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

Winston Churchill

Alan Street wrote:
> http://abcnews.go.com/US/print?id=1974236
>
> Aircraft Carrier Sunk in Gulf of Mexico
> Aircraft Carrier Sunk in Gulf of Mexico to Create Artificial Reef
> By MELISSA NELSON


Was there a short, wide silhouette on the bridge as she went down?