billmackbarnes
Contributor
The USS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg off Key West is open for diving!
We went out on a private charter with Kathy, Captain of the Honu World, out of Kings Marina just north of Key West. This was Kathy's first trip. We had a mixed bunch of 6 divers including two recreational divers, two on rebreathers, and two on scooters. Profiles varied from 20 minutes to 120 minutes. Kathy was a very gracious host and very accommodating given our various needs. Her 30 foot craft is very well laid out with a wide beam to give plenty of room for gear and divers. A half cover provided protection from the sun. Fresh water for a shower and a marine head complete the craft.
The Vandenberg was featured in the movie "Virus" and has some Russian writing in strange places. If you want to get some idea of the size of the ship, you can see the movie.
The huge satellite dishes broke off during the sinking, which was expected. They are secured with half inch stainless steel cables to keep them from falling off the ship.
There are six mooring balls on the ship. We were tied off near the dishes. The shackle was at 65 feet so this is a deep wreck. As we went down we could see what appeared to be open water divers from a cattle boat hanging onto a ladder for dear life in the current rather than seek protection from the current behind the superstructure.
At my urging we put out a ÅÈranny line to get from the current line to the bow line. It was a good thing we did, because we could not swim against the current on the surface.
You need at least two dives on the Vandenberg to realize that you need a week to see all of it. We made one dive with scooters and didn't see half of it. The current was whipping and it was smart to seek protection from the current behind the superstructure.
While the Vandenberg's 523 feet is only slightly longer than the Spiegel Grove's 510 feet, the superstructure makes all the difference between the two ships. The superstructure rises many decks and in many places. Lots of places to explore, or hide behind to get away from the current.
Did I mention the current? The current was ripping. Our Gavin scooters were barely able to make headway in a direct current. I moved over to the lee side to be able to make progress.
There is a thermocline at 100? The water temp (about 80 F) is the same as the surface temperature down to about 90 or 100? I did not get a bottom temperature. I did not want to get cold scootering, so I was in a 5 mm Henderson Hyperstretch, but I think a 3 mm would have been fine. We had 85 to 120 feet of viz. I could see the superstructure at 85 from the surface, but I could not see the bottom at 140?
There is a lot of wreck to explore between 85 and 100? DonÃÕ underestimate how quickly you will go through your gas.
There are lots of places to explore. I will say this once. Please seek proper WRECK, CAVERN, CAVE, DEEP, ADVANCED NITROX, TRIMIX, DECO PROCEDURES, and/or OVERHEAD training BEFORE attempting a penetration dive. I have it.
Training will keep you alive and the proper gas and equipment will allow you enjoy your dive. There are lots of holes cut in the sides, lots of open hatches.
I predict the Vandenberg will kill move people than the Spiegel Grove and the Bibb. We burned though more that 80 cubic feet of gas with a 20 minute bottom time scooetering! I typically expect to use one third of the gas I normally do scootering versus swimming.
I scootered down check out the prop, no joy, prop is gone. The rudder is there. There is plenty of room to scooter between the end of the shaft and he huge rudder. The sand is 143 at the rudder. I had heard the wreck sank in 150 to 160 feet of water, but it was 143 feet to the sand at the stern, I did not make it to the bow, so I canÃÕ confirm.
I scootered in a side hatch near the satellite dishes and into a huge room. I found what could have been an elevator shaft. I went down to 135 feet inside the shaft. This shaft was plenty big for two people to scooter in. Luckily this shaft came up right by the satellite dishes where our mooring ball was! Talk about getting lucky. We were holding onto the huge mooring ball line during our safety stops in the whipping current. It was pretty still hard work.
The rebreather divers said they hit 155 inside the wreck.
This is a huge wreck with lots to see within recreational limits. There is still plenty of trash and fiberglass insulation in places.
Please be careful but have fun!
The pool is OPEN.
Bill
PS Since we had the boat for the day, Kathy was nice enough to cook us hot dogs on the grill. We dove the Cayman Salvage as an afternoon dive. There is no superstructure on this wreck but there were lots of fish, two giant tarpon and a small 200 pound Goliath Grouper. The swim throughs are not cleared, so there are lots of entrapment dangers.
The engine room was quite interesting. Some large swim through. I went down into the bilge area which I do not recommend. I would not let my buddy in. Too much danger of a silt out or entrapment. Swim over the top if you donÃÕ have the training or arenÃÕ comfortable with hanging wires and ropes.
Vis was about 40 feet and the water was considerable colder. Nice dive though.
We went out on a private charter with Kathy, Captain of the Honu World, out of Kings Marina just north of Key West. This was Kathy's first trip. We had a mixed bunch of 6 divers including two recreational divers, two on rebreathers, and two on scooters. Profiles varied from 20 minutes to 120 minutes. Kathy was a very gracious host and very accommodating given our various needs. Her 30 foot craft is very well laid out with a wide beam to give plenty of room for gear and divers. A half cover provided protection from the sun. Fresh water for a shower and a marine head complete the craft.
The Vandenberg was featured in the movie "Virus" and has some Russian writing in strange places. If you want to get some idea of the size of the ship, you can see the movie.
The huge satellite dishes broke off during the sinking, which was expected. They are secured with half inch stainless steel cables to keep them from falling off the ship.
There are six mooring balls on the ship. We were tied off near the dishes. The shackle was at 65 feet so this is a deep wreck. As we went down we could see what appeared to be open water divers from a cattle boat hanging onto a ladder for dear life in the current rather than seek protection from the current behind the superstructure.
At my urging we put out a ÅÈranny line to get from the current line to the bow line. It was a good thing we did, because we could not swim against the current on the surface.
You need at least two dives on the Vandenberg to realize that you need a week to see all of it. We made one dive with scooters and didn't see half of it. The current was whipping and it was smart to seek protection from the current behind the superstructure.
While the Vandenberg's 523 feet is only slightly longer than the Spiegel Grove's 510 feet, the superstructure makes all the difference between the two ships. The superstructure rises many decks and in many places. Lots of places to explore, or hide behind to get away from the current.
Did I mention the current? The current was ripping. Our Gavin scooters were barely able to make headway in a direct current. I moved over to the lee side to be able to make progress.
There is a thermocline at 100? The water temp (about 80 F) is the same as the surface temperature down to about 90 or 100? I did not get a bottom temperature. I did not want to get cold scootering, so I was in a 5 mm Henderson Hyperstretch, but I think a 3 mm would have been fine. We had 85 to 120 feet of viz. I could see the superstructure at 85 from the surface, but I could not see the bottom at 140?
There is a lot of wreck to explore between 85 and 100? DonÃÕ underestimate how quickly you will go through your gas.
There are lots of places to explore. I will say this once. Please seek proper WRECK, CAVERN, CAVE, DEEP, ADVANCED NITROX, TRIMIX, DECO PROCEDURES, and/or OVERHEAD training BEFORE attempting a penetration dive. I have it.
Training will keep you alive and the proper gas and equipment will allow you enjoy your dive. There are lots of holes cut in the sides, lots of open hatches.
I predict the Vandenberg will kill move people than the Spiegel Grove and the Bibb. We burned though more that 80 cubic feet of gas with a 20 minute bottom time scooetering! I typically expect to use one third of the gas I normally do scootering versus swimming.
I scootered down check out the prop, no joy, prop is gone. The rudder is there. There is plenty of room to scooter between the end of the shaft and he huge rudder. The sand is 143 at the rudder. I had heard the wreck sank in 150 to 160 feet of water, but it was 143 feet to the sand at the stern, I did not make it to the bow, so I canÃÕ confirm.
I scootered in a side hatch near the satellite dishes and into a huge room. I found what could have been an elevator shaft. I went down to 135 feet inside the shaft. This shaft was plenty big for two people to scooter in. Luckily this shaft came up right by the satellite dishes where our mooring ball was! Talk about getting lucky. We were holding onto the huge mooring ball line during our safety stops in the whipping current. It was pretty still hard work.
The rebreather divers said they hit 155 inside the wreck.
This is a huge wreck with lots to see within recreational limits. There is still plenty of trash and fiberglass insulation in places.
Please be careful but have fun!
The pool is OPEN.
Bill
PS Since we had the boat for the day, Kathy was nice enough to cook us hot dogs on the grill. We dove the Cayman Salvage as an afternoon dive. There is no superstructure on this wreck but there were lots of fish, two giant tarpon and a small 200 pound Goliath Grouper. The swim throughs are not cleared, so there are lots of entrapment dangers.
The engine room was quite interesting. Some large swim through. I went down into the bilge area which I do not recommend. I would not let my buddy in. Too much danger of a silt out or entrapment. Swim over the top if you donÃÕ have the training or arenÃÕ comfortable with hanging wires and ropes.
Vis was about 40 feet and the water was considerable colder. Nice dive though.
