Oops! The Oriskany was an aircraft carrier, not a battleship.
Its non-profit owners had attempted to save and restore it (certainly against great odds and huge costs), but now getting rid of it by sinking it is being portrayed as some kind of great environmental and tourist benefit.
My dad has an ashtray/jewelry dish from when he sailed on it as a teenager.
Sickening! I’ve past it countless times at the pier. I really thought someone would repurpose it and not sink it! The ship is absolutely magnificent in its engineering and legacy. Now it’s going to be a diver museum and fish hotel.
My younger brother and I used to dive off of Destin. For those who do not know about the Mississippi River and its effect on the Gulf, Destin is the first port East of the mouth of the Mississippi River which is clear enough to see underwater. The effects of the Mississippi River dumping tons of silt into the delta are felt until Destin. I had an older cousin who lived in Fort Walton Beach who almost lived diving in the Gulf! ;-)
Now my nephews are diving off of Destin.
It is sad to see the S.S. United States becoming an atificial reef but it was simply rotting to nothing in Philadelphia so that I suppose that it is a good thing.
What are officials going to do with the fuel and oil and other waste products that will be ejected from the vessel????????? Send it to Cuba or Norfolk?
If walls could talk.
S.S. United States
So I take it it can’t still sail under its own power.
Dragging it down the east coast, around the Florida peninsula and up to you will be a major project all on its own.
One man’s junk is another man’s treasure, and artificial reef.
Divers AND anglers?
Sounds problematic.
I suggest it be repurposed as an illegal alien shelter, then tow it out to sea, and sink it. That's what they call "killing two birds with one stone". Having real skeletons on board will make it an even more attractive diving attraction.
My brother doesn’t live far from where this ship is docked. He mentioned to me last week that its going to florida to make a reef.
Its topical in our family because we took the SS United States from NYC to Bremerhaven, Germany in 1964 between army assignments. My dad had been stationed in Ft. Ord, California. He was re-assigned to Landstuhl, Germany. So we drove across the country and hopped the SS United States for Germany.
A great travel adventure.
It was high times for all.
This brings tears to my eyes. I rode that ship as a 9 year old in January of 56 on our way to Germany from New York. I remember it vividly. Dad passed on to me the Guest Lists, Menus, postcards and other paraphernalia a few years ago before his death.
John Wayne was on the ship and my mother told me he was with a different woman almost every night! We had First Class Cabins and we were taking our new 1956 Pontiac Station Wagon across with us. Me and my sister used to run and slide down the polished corridors in our pajamas. I remember the orange and green melon balls in silver pedestaled serving dishes and all the rare roast beef I could eat! At midnight while my parents were in the ballroom I would push the green or red buttons on the wall for a Stewardess/Steward to bring Me a plate of chilled fruit. Dad taught me the card game solitaire and I spent hours playing it not knowing if it was night or day. Wasn’t much to do for a child on that ship. What great memories. It killed me seeing her sit there rusting!!!
Okaloosa Island is our favorite vacation spot. Looking forward to seeing this someday.
Thanks for posting the pic. I notice it fit inside the box, unlike your picture of Lizzo.
Bring on the Red Snapper.
I wonder if Jeff Bezos could have made it into a superyacht at less cost than the yacht he had built.
” the county will spend an estimated $10.1 million on the project”
I had to read that a couple times and of course it is a government job. 10 million (100 by the time it even moves) to sink a boat?
SOOOOO WHEN THE NEXT REALLY BIG HURRICANE COMES—WILL IT GET PULLED UP & GO FLYING???