Old aircraft carrier, new artificial reef in Florida

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Christine Sarkis is an SATW-award-winning journalist and executive editor at SmarterTravel. Her stories have also appeared on USA Today, Conde Nast Traveler, Huffington Post, and Business Insider. Her advice has been featured in dozens of print and online publications including The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, and People magazine. She has also shared travel tips on television and radio shows including Good Morning America, Marketplace, and Here & Now. Her work has been published in the anthologies Spain from a Backpack and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2008. She is currently working on a travel memoir.

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There’s a new reef in town. That is, if town is 22.5 miles off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. On May 17, the decommissioned aircraft carrier Oriskany was scuttled and began its new life as a reef. The ship was environmentally prepared to become an artificial reef, and is set to become a destination for fish and other marine life, the divers who like to watch them, and the fishermen who like to eat them.

VisitPensacola.com has a page with more information, including dive resources, history, and videos.

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