Here she comes....Vandenberg!!!

[mike_s]

She's in Key West...

photo from news

from Key West preps World War II ship to become top artificial reef - Florida Keys - MiamiHerald.com

Key West preps World War II ship to become top artificial reef

A former military ship used in World War II arrived in Key West for final preparations before being sunk to become the world's second-largest artificial reef.

By CAMMY CLARK
cclark@MiamiHerald.com

KEY WEST -- A hulking steel ship that once transported World War II troops and tracked Russian missile launches during the Cold War arrived Wednesday morning at Key West's Truman Annex Harbor, its last stop before its final mission: serving as the world's second-largest artificial reef.

''I've got goose bumps,'' Key West boat captain Joe Weatherby said as the 523-foot USS Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg was tugged to the dock before a cheering throng of supporters.

The Vandenberg, a former Army and Air Force ship, will remain at the dock for about a month, while workers prepare it for sinking at a site six miles offshore of Key West, in waters about 140 feet deep.

MAKING A `SPLASH'

While no exact date has been set for the scuttling, Key West City Commissioner Bill Verge expects it will be between May 20 and June 1, the start of hurricane season.

''Splash will be the greatest sound this orchestra can hear,'' Key West Mayor Morgan McPherson said, referring to the federal, state and local entities that worked on the nearly $9 million project. ``It's been a long time coming.''

Weatherby began the project 13 years ago, when he thumbed through booklets listing about 400 mothballed ships. He selected the Vandenberg because of its interesting structure, rich military history, manageable hazardous materials and massive size. ''We wanted a big one and we wanted a cool one,'' Weatherby said.

But Weatherby had no idea how rough it would be to navigate through the sea of federal and state regulations, while the price tag soared by millions. ''There were times when it looked pretty bleak,'' Weatherby said.

The Vandenberg went to federal auction after a boat yard filed a lien against it for unpaid cleaning and decontamination. First State Bank of the Florida Keys came to the rescue in December with a winning bid of $1.35 million.

The Vandenberg was towed 1,100 miles from Norfolk to Key West, where it docked Wednesday.

About 60 workers will prepare the Vandenberg for sinking. It still has Russian lettering left from its stint as a Russian science ship in the 1999 movie ``Virus.''

Preparation includes removing last bits of asbestos, paint chips and other contaminants and placing charges to create 47 holes for water to flow in and flood the ship.

Verge said hundreds of veterans who served on the ship, including many from World War II when it was called the Gen. Henry Taylor, are planning to watch the ship sink to its final resting spot.

Once the Vandenberg is sunk, only the 911-foot Oriskany that was scuttled off of Pensacola in 2006 will be a bigger artificial reef.

Monroe County Commissioner Mario Di Gennaro, a longtime supporter of the project, said the ship will provide an economic boost as well as lure divers away from the fragile coral reef.

UNIQUE DIVING

Weatherby said the Vandenberg is likely to attract divers from around the world.

''Just look at it,'' Weatherby said of the ship, which stands 80 feet tall and whose top will be just 40 feet from the surface when sunk.

''It can be seen from glass bottom boats and snorkelers all the way to technical divers,'' Weatherby said. ``From the Spiegel Grove to the Vandenberg and all the shipwrecks in between, and with our warm, clear waters, there's nowhere else in the world you can dive and have this kind of experience.''

 

[mike_s]

news from Key West's ship finally comes in

Key West's ship finally comes in
'Vandenberg' completes journey from Virginia, final work to start to prepare for scuttling

By SEAN KINNEY
skinney@keynoter.com
Posted - Wednesday, April 22, 2009 08:00 AM EDT

t took more than $8 million and 10 years, but the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg arrived in Key West at 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, greeted at its temporary dockage, the Truman Waterfront, by a crowd of several hundred people.

Plans are for the 523-foot decommissioned military vessel to be intentionally sunk in late May or early June as an artificial reef six miles south of the city. It's expected to provide a huge boon to the dive and snorkel industry.

"Not only will it be the second largest ship in the world ever intentionally sunk to become an artificial reef, but it is of huge historical significance," Mayor Morgan McPherson says.

The largest ship intentionally scuttled as an artificial reef is the 888-foot USS Oriskany, which took the plunge in 2006 off Pensacola.

The 510-foot Spiegel Grove was sunk off Key Largo in 2002 at a cost of $1.4 million.

While the Vandenberg has reached its final destination after spending time in the Navy's mothball fleet on the James River and after being cleaned of contaminants at a Norfolk, Va., shipyard, there are still lots of nuts and bolts left in the operation.

"I'm exhausted," said Key West City Commissioner Bill Verge, the city's point man on the project. "It doesn't end here, it just begins here. Everybody acts like it's done."

Final preparations include cutting 47 holes into the hull, final asbestos inspections, a once-over from federal regulators, and rigging for the explosives that will eventually send her to the bottom.

The ship passed Marathon on Monday and arrived off Key West late Tuesday. Wednesday morning, the ship was maneuvered by tug and pilot boats into harbor and docked near the USS Mohawk on the East Quay Wall.

The ship will not be open to public tours due to safety concerns, but a good view of the Vandenberg will be available from the East Quay Wall and from aboard the Mohawk.

Plans are for the ship to be on the ocean's bottom by June 1, the start of the six-month hurricane season.

After preparations are complete, the Vandenberg will be towed out to the scuttling location and anchored in spot. The Coast Guard, with help from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, will set up a perimeter of 500 yards around the ship.

Verge said he heard reports that when the Vandenberg was in transit down the Keys, many boaters were motoring right up next to it and ignoring the steel lines attaching the tugboats to the powerless Vandenberg.

 

[mike_s]

Pic's of it being towed in

 

[fisheyeview]

Nice articles.

Interesting the discrepancy in the size of the Oriskany between the two articles.

 

[mike_s]

Nice articles.

Interesting the discrepancy in the size of the Oriskany between the two articles.

actually I can understand the discrepancy....

A couple years ago before the sunk the oriskany, I contact the Oriskany museum and got information on the ships specs. The length and width of the ship changed with modifications that the Navy had done to it over the years, mostly the transition to accomadate jet fighters.

They added the "angled flight deck" and also bow sprints for recovering and launching jet aircraft. It was re-configured several times over its lifespan.

so depending on when (what year) it was measured, the specs are slightly different.


And when they are getting down to "picking bones" about this being the 2nd largest wreck sunk, they forgot to mention the USS Saratoga. (but of course it's not in Floirda, but in the south pacific)

 

[evensplit]

Oriskany was 888' when she was launched in 1945, and 911' when sunk in 2006, thanks to mods completed in 1959.

 

[mike_s]

A few more pics I found

 

[Divergirl4U]

I can not wait till she is down .... do they have a date set?

Dive Key West Inc is offering Vandenberg trips for $99 plus tanks their number is 305-296-3823

 

[Cavs42]

And when they are getting down to "picking bones" about this being the 2nd largest wreck sunk, they forgot to mention the USS Saratoga. (but of course it's not in Floirda, but in the south pacific)

they were also talking about ships intentionally sunk to act as artificial reefs. The Sara was sunk as part of a nuclear weapons test, I doubt they cared about the marine ecosystem in the area!

 

[trtldvr]

I can not wait till she is down .... do they have a date set?

Dive Key West Inc is offering Vandenberg trips for $99 plus tanks their number is 305-296-3823

The working date that the clearance divers have been given is 5/21.