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deck 137' according to my Oceanic VT-Pro dive
computer.
The Oriskany is one of the safest deep dives in
the world. The top of the island is half your
deepest depth if you touch the flight deck. This
feature automatically falls under the safety stop
rule of halfs. More and more divers are making a
one minute safety stops at half their deepest
depth which is believed to reduce the formation
of micro-bubbles in the body.
Because the keel rests in the sand at 212' there
is never any problem with divers mucking up the
bottom and reducing visibility for the other
divers. The flight deck acts as the recreational
diver's sea floor. Even in the poorest conditions
visibility as never been an issue. Surface current
is usually zero to 1.5 knots and rarely poses a
problem as long as the diver follows the anchor
line down to the Island.
Within the first year of her reefing,
thousands of divers have dove the
Mighty-O and there has not been
any fatalities caused from diving the
Oriskany.
The Oriskany is a
decommissioned 911'
long aircraft carrier. It
was sunk by the US Navy
on May 17, 2006. She
rests be sunk 22.5 miles
south east of the
Pensacola pass in 215'
deep water. The
Oriskany is the largest
artificial reef on Earth.
This is expected to make
Pensacola one of the
most sought after dive
spots in the world.
The top of the carrier's
island can be reached
at a depth of 67' with the
flight deck being
reached at 137'.
Recreational dive limits
are to 130' while normal
technical divers may go
several hundred feet
deep. The Oriskany will
offer superb diving to
both recreational and
deep tech divers. Due to
its location 17 miles
directly offshore, the
underwater visibility
should almost always be
excellent in the range of
60' to 1000'. It will only
take several months for
sea life to start growing
on the ship. Fish have
already begun to make
the Oriskany their new
home.
Whale sharks are
expected to be drawn to
the massive underwater
city.
There is no telling what
sea life she will attract in
the future. We can only
wait and see with baited
breath.
