PENSACOLA, Florida (15 May 2006) -- As a fighter pilot leading an attack squadron aboard the USS Oriskany in Vietnam, retired Navy Capt. Robert Rasmussen had one of the most glamorous jobs on the famed aircraft carrier. On Monday, he stood among former Oriskany boiler operators, electricians and radio men. They watched as their old ship made her final sea voyage, a slow tow 24 miles off the coast of Pensacola where she will be sunk on Wednesday as a massive artificial reef. "All ships have a soul of sorts, something that makes them very special to the crew that serves aboard. The Oriskany had that in spades. It was home to us. It was really something special," Rasmussen said as he watched the rusted behemoth being pulled away from its port at Pensacola Naval Air Station by six tow boats. Navy divers will open the ship's flood valves and arm strategically placed explosives at dawn Wednesday, starting what is expected to be a five-hour trip to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. The Korean and Vietnam-era carrier, which stretches nearly three football fields in length, will become the world's largest intentionally created reef. The ship, the first selected for sinking under a pilot program to reef old warships, is expected to lure sport divers and fisherman from around the world. Navy divers will be the first to explore Oriskany underwater - checking the sink site to ensure it's safe before opening it to recreational divers, Navy officials said Monday. Despite nearly two years of delays in the Oriskany's sinking because of hurricanes and environmental permitting problems and a $20 million final price tag, Navy leaders speaking at Pensacola Naval Air Station Monday morning said they were pleased with the project. | | Still afloat but not for long: USS Oriskany "Our concern was to do it right. You are going to have a resource here in Pensacola that will allow generations here to fish and dive and learn about the Oriskany," said Don Schregardus, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for installations and the environment. At a tow speed of just 2 knots, the Oriskany wasn't expected to make it to the sink site until late Monday. On Tuesday, two 6-foot holes will be cut inside the stern and some flooding will begin to prepare for Wednesday sinking, said Glen Clark of the Navy's Inactive Ship Program Office. |
