After 2 days of up and back offshore she is heading to KeyWest. Its a great day. I thought she was going to try out for Nascar. With all those left truns
Her track looks like Daytona.
Her track looks like Daytona.
Here she comes....Vandenberg!!!
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Buoyant1
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Where are they tying her up? By Ft. Zach. behind the Mowhawk? I have a friend that's down visiting another friend and he's going to wander over and try to get some pictures for me.
There are bring her in now. Should not be much longer. There are going to have a party at noon I thing.
deeper thoughts
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I should be in Key west saturday and will try to post some pix
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Hopefully someone will podt pics from it entering port & docking.
Some images to start...
I'm loading a whole gallery at Seaduction, should be up by end of day
The ship is facing away, so you are seeing the stern/back of the USAFS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg
I'm loading a whole gallery at Seaduction, should be up by end of day
The ship is facing away, so you are seeing the stern/back of the USAFS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg
Last edited:
MSPDiver
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Awesome
Looks like its gonna be a very cool dive!!!
She at the dock the tugs here leaving.
mike_s
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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 09:03 AM EDT
It 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 Monday and was scheduled to arrive off Key West late Tuesday. Today around 9 a.m., the ship is set to be maneuvered by various tug and pilot boats into Truman Harbor and docked near the USS Mohawk on the East Quay Wall. Other boats must be at least 500 yards away as it makes its entrance.
U.S. Coast Guard Sector Key West Cmdr. Scott Buschman said, "We're asking everyone to stay away from the Vandenberg. We want to make sure it's safe."
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.
The Conch Republic Military is hosting a welcoming reception for the Vandenberg at 8 a.m. today on the Mohawk. It's $10 per person, which includes a tour of the old Coast Guard ship, coffee and pastries.
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 09:03 AM EDT
It 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 Monday and was scheduled to arrive off Key West late Tuesday. Today around 9 a.m., the ship is set to be maneuvered by various tug and pilot boats into Truman Harbor and docked near the USS Mohawk on the East Quay Wall. Other boats must be at least 500 yards away as it makes its entrance.
U.S. Coast Guard Sector Key West Cmdr. Scott Buschman said, "We're asking everyone to stay away from the Vandenberg. We want to make sure it's safe."
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.
The Conch Republic Military is hosting a welcoming reception for the Vandenberg at 8 a.m. today on the Mohawk. It's $10 per person, which includes a tour of the old Coast Guard ship, coffee and pastries.
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