Vandenberg Key West

[Piccola]

I am heading to Key West in a few months and am looking for dive shop recommendations, I would like to get out to the Vandenberg. Many of the reviews I have read are all over the place, hard to decide when reviews are so mixed. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Ozwald]

I just came back from there. I dove the Vandy with "Captains Corner" I believe they were called. Seemed to be a good operation.

 

[oly5050user]

we will be there in 2 weeks..Been going for 10+ years now.I prefer Sub Tropic for the Vandy. Capt corner ok for their night dive on the Cayman Salvager wreck.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

Piccola,

I know what you mean. My buddy and I wanted to dive the Vandenberg, but aren't familiar with any of the Key-West area dive Ops. We did some online research (seeing the same varying reports you did) and then made a few phone calls, but we really didn't come up with anything that made us want to book (we ended up going out to some other wrecks with an Op we were familiar with in the Key Largo area instead, but I would still like to see the Vandenberg some time).

So, I'll be reading this thread with interest, and I hope that if you do go out to the Vandenberg you will report back on your experience with whichever Op you choose.

Blue Sparkle

 

[ktomlinson]

I have only used Subtropic in Key West. They were easy to deal with, the prices were good and the people were very nice. I did a double dip one day, and liked it so much I decided to come back for another Vandy dive the next day. The next day I happened to notice that when the boat swayed, the windows in the front of the boat got a little misshapen... It was happening because there were cracks clean through on both front corners (you know...the part that supports the upper deck where the captain drives from). I have a feeling that if they dont fix this soon they will lose the top of their boat if they get into bigger waves. After seeing this I decided that even with the positive experience from the day before, I wouldnt be able to go back out on that boat because of concern for my safety. I noticed one more thing that I didnt like, but am not sure if it was an actual concern or not. The 6000PSI O2 bottle below decks looked like it had been in salt water for years (rust everywhere). If the bottle was empty, thats not an issue...if it isnt empty..thats not too good. I didnt ask anyone about this since I didnt plan on coming back on board and it was near the end of my trip.

 

[divebob50]

I've traveled to the Key West every year for the past few years and I've always dove with Southpoint Divers. When I first traveled to Key West I was scheduled to go on a dive, but it was cancelled. I wanted to go out, so I picked up a phone book, a Key West guide, I don't remember. Their ad looked good, I called them and asked if they could get me out that day, and they said yes. Had a great time. I have only dove with them ever since. While the shop is tiny and not really a dive shop, and the employees have not been the friendliest at times, I have always found the crew on the boat to be top notch. And thats what matters to me the most. The boat and the crew. Did a dive on the Vandy with them last year. Its freakin' cool!

 

[sportxlh]

I did a double dip on the Vandy with SubTropic in Feb. I was pleased with the operation. I did not see any of the things Ktomlinson did (I wasn't looking either) so can't really comment on his observations or confirm them or express an opinion on how big of issues they are. I'd probably go out with them again, but I'd take a look at the items Ktomlinson pointed out.

 

[ktomlinson]

I'm not sure how many boats they have, possibly two, but the boat I was on was the starfish enterprise. I remember because I liked the name. They may have fixed it since then, or maybe they use a different boat now. Everything else with them was great when I used them in June. If they fix the issue I wrote about, and confirmed the rusty tank is empty I would certainly dive with them again.

 

[HiQPen]

I dove the Vandenberg in June with Bonsai Divers and couldn't be more enthusiastic about recommending them, especially after the runaround and inflexibility of Capt. Corner, Sub-tropic, etc. Peter runs a fast six pack, not a cattle car, so the diving is 100% tailored to the needs of the divers. My wife is a bit of a nervous diver and they were very thorough in briefing us and alleviating most of her worries and very patient with her so we had a great dive. His boat is faster, so we didn't have to show up at the dock until an hour later than the folks diving the other boats and we passed them on the way out and got to the Vandy before them. We also didn't have a fixed time limit (there was a 20 min limit for the divers on at least one of the other dive boats) for the dive but rather were able to stay down as long as our air lasted and NDL allowed.

 

[Former FLL Now MSP Diver]

I did the Vandenberg last month with Subtropic. At first I thought they were a little lax, but we were buddied up with a dive master in training - Bond who's in the Navy/Coast Guard (?) who gave us excellent tours of the wreck and made the most of our too short bottom time. He also knew where all the points of interest were (see my new avatar) and plants special coins around the wreck for others to find. He made the dive.

Highly recommended for the Vandenberg.