Dove the USS Oriskany on Thursday and Friday, just before Tropical Storm Fay hit. Booked the dives through MBT Divers and went out on the boat "H2O Below", with Captain Doug and Divemaster Rich. Definitely a first-class operation all the way around. The weather held off long enough to allow 4 great dives. On both days, the seas were 1-3 feet, with moderate surface and mid-level current, and low upper-level visibility. At a 70-foot thermocline, the temperature dropped to 71 degrees, the vis was terrific, and the current disappeared. On every dive, we saw lots of fish hanging around high on the superstructure and several barracuda around the safety stop. Fortunately, the only jellyfish were a few big moon jellies.
First dive on day one, went straight down and laid computers on the deck for a depth of 137 feet. Explored the base of the superstructure for awhile and then headed back up.
Second dive on day one, swam around at about 100 feet, exploring the various openings and getting a feeling for the sheer size.
First dive on day two, swam around to the back of the structure and dropped a couple of playing cards weighted with quarters into the air intake. Then looked for a reported octopus but did not see it.
Second dive on day two, toured the Admiral's deck and did some minor penetrations. On the way up, I switched to my new pony tank just to see how long 13 cf would last.
Overall, it was a great set of dives. There is plenty to see and you could dive this many times before getting tired of it.
