Mighty 'O' reef living up to hype
BY VICI PAPAJOHN Gulf Breeze News vici@gulfbreezenews.com

Oriskany image courtesy of Michael Guglielmo The majority of divers stay in the "island area" or top level of the carrier.

The U.S.S. Oriskany, or the "Mighty O" as it is nicknamed, has rested on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico for one year, and local divers and fishermen have not been disappointed.

Frequently, when years of preparation and much hoopla mark an event, the event itself is anti-climactic. But not in the case of the Mighty O. Hundreds looked on from the bows of sea vessels and thousands more tuned in online and on television to watch when the vessel made its final descent.

"In many ways the Oriskany has held up her end of the bargain. She has become in many people's opinion the best dive site in the south, and to some in the world," says Jim Phillips, co-owner MBT Divers. "She is the largest artificial reef in the world and she has developed much faster as a reef than I think anybody expected. There are several charter boats in the area offering services to the site. I have heard that several thousand people have been run out there to dive."

"The site is open to pretty much all scuba divers. You do need to be current and confident. Most divers stay on the island, or the portion above the flight deck."

Phillips reports that the one thing he hears most often during the return trip is that the divers never appreciated before just how big an aircraft carrier is. "Most Americans never get the chance to see one up close. And we are getting a lot of people coming in from Europe as well," Phillips reports. "They are even more amazed."

Twenty-two explosive devices decimated the infrastructure of the carrier, sending it to the floor where it settled almost exactly as planned.

"Perfect," explains Phillips today. "It is perfect in the water."

Dive boats take about one hour to travel 24 miles offshore to the dive spot. Most people do two dives before they return to shore, according to Phillips.

"The biggest thing is that the charter boats here in Pensacola so far have kept safe. There have been no incidents to date," Phillips assures.

The process leading up to the sinking was filled with debate and uncertainty. Now, divers, spear fishermen and surface anglers alike have their holy grail, the largest intentionally submerged man made reef in the world. And it's right here in Pensacola.

The Mighty O does not disappoint.

A 1998 study, funded by the state of Florida, by researchers from Florida State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows that artificial reefs generate more than $92 million in annual spending by locals and visitors in Escambia County. An additional interpretation by NOAA in 2006 predicted the Oriskany would add an average of $9 million in annual spending. The study also focused on supplementary jobs the reef may bring to the area, estimating $2.1 million in additional annual wages.

"Well, we need to know exactly what the impact has been," says Ed Schroeder, Vice President Convention and Visitor's Bureau of the Pensacola Chamber of Commerce. "We hired the Haas Center at UWF to do a complete study. I just got off the phone with them and the report is not quite ready, but the impact has been huge. The impact study will include exposure world-wide for our area," Schroeder says.

"I went to the 2006 Diving Equipment and Marketing Association expo and we marketed the Oriskany," Schroeder remembers. "Information on diving her was one of the mostsought after exhibits there. It was a confirmation of what the local diving industry was telling me. I don't have the experience in the dive world to appreciate how enormous the Oriskany is to them, but I heard it first-hand. I have never had that experience at any other show marketing any other product."

Schroeder encourages nondivers to take heart that the Mighty O adds to the security of the economic base of our greater community.

"I feel good that I live in a community that has so many world-class parts to it. To start with the Museum of Naval Aviation, add God's gift of the most beautiful beaches in the world and now we add the world's premiere dive spot? It's all here, in our back yard."

Many divers are repeat divers who have already been to the area to dive the USS Massachusetts, one of the many other explorable shipwrecks in the area which has been in Pensacola Bay since the 1920's. Since the flight deck of the "Mighty O" is below the limit of most open water divers at more than 130 feet, most people explore the part of the ship referred to as "the island." The island is the large tower structure that protrudes from the flight deck, and is where the bridge and navigation systems of the ship are located.

"We've got to do a better job promoting Pensacola," says Phillips. "I think about 70 percent of the divers are coming here from Destin or Orange Beach to dive the Oriskany, and we need them here, not there. Two nights hotel stay and meals adds up for our area when they travel here to dive."