U.S.S. Oriskany Video

These are some clips from my first dive on the U.S.S. Oriskany on May 17, 2008. The 17th was the second anniversary of the ships sinking as part of Florida's extensive reef building program. The carrier at 911 feet long and displacing 27,100 tons, is the largest vessel ever intentionally sunk for the purpose of creating an artificial reef. The ship lies 22 miles off the coast of Pensacola, FL in 212 feet of water. 

I completed two dives that day to a maximum depth of 140 feet. The ship was well along in the process of encrustation by corals and other marine life and the attraction of varied species of fish including dozens of large barracuda, grouper, amberjack and at least one very large leatherback sea turtle. 

While it was very cool to see all these large species, the main attraction is the overriding sense of awe that overtakes you as this behemoth first comes into view. I have lived aboard two carriers and am well acquainted with their huge size but their floating counterparts have nowhere near the magnitude of one encountered at the bottom of the sea. 

For one, in the best possible scenario of visibility it is impossible to see even an 1/8 of the length of this ship at one time. At pier it is possible to take in the largesse of a carrier in one eye full but underwater you just swim along endlessly discovering new portions of the ship until you run out of air.

I chose to shoot this project in HighDef believing it necessary to do the scale of the subject justice. To be truthful it has so far been a pretty big pain in the ass. For one, the file sizes are huge and the transfer rate in Final Cut extremely slow. I am also working in the newly incorporated AVCHD format and their seems to be plenty of bugs between Sony and Apple to iron out. If anyone out there has had any experience with perfecting the AVCHD workflow in Final Cut Express feel free to pass it along.

My hope is to eventually develop this footage, along with archival material and some interviews (which i will be sharing soon) into a feature length documentary on the ship's journey from warship to artificial reef. Any and all comments, suggestions and insights into this project are welcome. I am currently trying to contact former members of the Oriskany's crew in the Florida area for interviews.