Vandenberg IS bringing divers to the Keys!

I know it may be stating the obvious, but it's great to read about the Vandenberg helping to attract divers to the Keys. Haven't had the opportunity to dive her yet, but hopefully soon!

Divers flock to Keys to dive the Vandenberg!

Wow, that is a cool picture!!!

I dove with Conch Republic today and a young diver from out of state asked me, "if the diving in Key West is not that great, why did they sink such a great wreck there?" My reply was obvious: "so that people would have a great dive in Key West!"

I'm headed there next week for some serious diving on the wreck. Will be much easier at only 7 miles off shore as compared to the Oriskany. I dove that too within several months of the sinking and could have used at least a couple more dives on her. Won't make that same mistake this time.

Dave

pickens_46929:

I'm headed there next week for some serious diving on the wreck. Will be much easier at only 7 miles off shore as compared to the Oriskany.

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Yeah and correct me if I am wrong but it is about 1/2 the cost and a lot less aggravating to get there and back.

Chugwhump:

Yeah and correct me if I am wrong but it is about 1/2 the cost and a lot less aggravating to get there and back.

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Looked into a trip down there this summer, and what I found was:
- Pricing to the V is somewhat elusive, and ops have so many add-ons and restrictions that it's tough to say what the cost is actually going to be.
- Some ops won't tell you how many dives you'll actually get to do on the V because the currents get so bad that they won't stay for the second or third dive.
- Nitrox is tough to get, and the ops don't seem to be in favor of using it. I've been told that it's because the ops want to limit bottom time.
- The cost of travel and especially lodging made the effort more expensive than a week in the Bahamas - including airfare.

I have done the Oriskany trip twice and had no problems. Charter prices were advertised as more than the V, but we paid what we were quoted and the ops were very good and easy to deal with. No aggravation at all for me.

Benandunnit:

Looked into a trip down there this summer, and what I found was:
- Pricing to the V is somewhat elusive, and ops have so many add-ons and restrictions that it's tough to say what the cost is actually going to be.
- Some ops won't tell you how many dives you'll actually get to do on the V because the currents get so bad that they won't stay for the second or third dive.
- Nitrox is tough to get, and the ops don't seem to be in favor of using it. I've been told that it's because the ops want to limit bottom time.
- The cost of travel and especially lodging made the effort more expensive than a week in the Bahamas - including airfare.

I have done the Oriskany trip twice and had no problems. Charter prices were advertised as more than the V, but we paid what we were quoted and the ops were very good and easy to deal with. No aggravation at all for me.

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I too agree with the price thing at first BUT with that said I have to say that any time you have something that BIG come into your town you want to advertise it and make the most off it as you can. I can also say it has been a while since the sinking and the shops are more organized and have their prices down so everyone can enjoy coming to Key West for this dive.

Conch Republic has been working along side of dive shops in Key West to make sure everyone is being treated well and fairly. So anyone wanting to dive the Vandie should call them and get the skinny on diving the Vandie.

Chugwhump:

Yeah and correct me if I am wrong but it is about 1/2 the cost and a lot less aggravating to get there and back.

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Eh... don't know about that just yet since I've not been down to Key West yet. Dove tons in Key Largo. Key West is pricier than Key Largo in terms of lodging and diving. As of now, about 20% higher.

Oriskany was / is driving distance for me from here. Long drive but possible in a single day or stretch. Key West is decidedly not. Airfare is roughly the same and the connection goes through Atlanta just the same.

Cost wise I think it's still a bit high for diving the Vandenberg for now since it's so new and demand is higher than capacity (it seems like). Same thing happened on the Oriskany when it was new. Too many people wanting to dive it and not enough charter operators.

But overall I think it runs $95-ish for 2 dives incl. tanks and weights in Key West on the Vandenberg (for now) and about $150-ish for 2 dives incl. tanks and weights on P'cola on the Oriskany. Since it's farther out, many charter operators run 3 tank trips to the Mighty O and they run about an extra $40 incl. tank.

I expect in the long term that prices will come down on the Vandenberg dives a bit perhaps.

So it'll be interesting to see what it's all like down in Key West this coming week.

my wife and i are diving the V in 2 weeks. can't wait.

I'm getting excited to get down and dive her...I'll be there at the end of October (Staying in Marathon) So I hope some people will come out and do some afternoons with me!! (hint hint)

I dove this during ITK for $60.00. I provided my own tanks (nitrox) and weights. We did a double dip. No problems with price shifting. They would ONLY do two tanks on the V if everyone was advanced w/nitrox, which we were. IT WAS AN AWESOME DIVE.
Beats the heck out of the Mighty O!