Keys Wreck Photo Report (Spiegel/Vandenberg)

[deeper thoughts]

I dove the Vandy 5 times over three days and it's a neat dive. However be careful which dive op you choose. I was there last Saturday and saw some small boats doing some rather dangerous things IMHO. There was a decent current, 4-5' seas, and a storm coming in with lightening on the horizon, so conditions were no ideal. In one case, a small boat with only two divers was unable to retrieve its divers when they came up on the wrong ball. The boat only had a captain aboard, so there was no one to put in the water to assist the divers in distress. Fortunately another properly equipped boat was nearby and put two DMs in the water to rescue the stranded divers and run lines back to the small boat. The boat providing the rescue was from Dive Key West.

The only two ops that I'd consider for my diving are Dive Key West and Southpoint Divers. Both run classly, safe operations. Some small ops have jumped into the business due to the popularity of the Vandy. Beware. It's YOUR life.

What I saw last Saturday chills me to the bone. It easily could have resulted in a tragedy. I have reported the incident to the local Coast Guard for follow-up.

At the time, I was onboard the MV Spree, a liveaboard operating out of Key West, so I had no involvement with any of this other than as a witness from the sundeck of the Spree. And I have no relationship with either DKW or SP other than as a customer.

BTW: Great photos of the Vandy.

I would also add subtropic dive center to the list

 

[ZoCrowes255]

I dove with Subtropic down there and they ran a very good boat. We did two dives each day on the Vandy and the crew and captain were great.

 

[divengolf]

I dove with Subtropic down there and they ran a very good boat. We did two dives each day on the Vandy and the crew and captain were great.

It's my understanding from reliable sources in KW, that the offending boat mentioned in my prior post was a Subtropic boat. The boat had "Pelican" on the stern but was in such a position that I could not read any signage on the sides (stern to). The info/pics on Subtropics web site seem to confirm this. I also understand that Subtropic has suspended all trips to the Vandy and the Coast Guard is aggressively investigating the incident. Can't say if the two actions are related, but a reasonable person would assume so.

If I hear any more, and I expect to, I'll post.

 

[bdombrowski]

Was on this wreck last week for the first time. One dive isn't enough to see even 25% of this wreck. Was on a friends boat with too many mechanical problems and could only make one dive. For $55, I'll go back and dive with a shop that does a double dip w/ my own tanks everyday I'm there.

Anyway, here's some of the video:
YouTube - Diving the USS Vandenberg, Key West FL

 

[ZoCrowes255]

It's my understanding from reliable sources in KW, that the offending boat mentioned in my prior post was a Subtropic boat. The boat had "Pelican" on the stern but was in such a position that I could not read any signage on the sides (stern to). The info/pics on Subtropics web site seem to confirm this. I also understand that Subtropic has suspended all trips to the Vandy and the Coast Guard is aggressively investigating the incident. Can't say if the two actions are related, but a reasonable person would assume so.

If I hear any more, and I expect to, I'll post.

Huh, that's news to me. Subtropic has two boats and both days I was on the Starfish Enterprise (Subtropics big boat) they ran a very good operation. They actually had quite a few staff onboard and seemed to have a good idea of what they were doing. I counted five staff on board the boat when I went with them last Friday (two instructors acting as guides, two captains and one divemaster.)

I also don't see why the USCG would be investigating the incident if it did not have any injuries. Divers coming up on the wrong mooring ball is less than an ideal situation however that's not the dive boats fault that's the divers.

If the captain has other divers in the water then the boat can't retrieve anyone until they have all of the other divers back on board. If they were the only two divers in the water from that boat then I don't see why the captain could not untie from his mooring ball to retrieve his two passengers.

I would personally refrain from posting anything that could effect someone's business and reputation until all the facts are in.

 

[sweetwaterhag]

Wait a second here, guys. I can assure you the Coast Guard is NOT investigating us for anything, nor have we suspended any of our dive trips. You need to get your story straight before you start spreading rumours about a business. Divers blowing off the wreck is a problem caused by the divers themselves, not the dive operation. This unfortunately is a small problem which happens fairly frequently on days with strong current. The divers are always informed of the expected conditions, and we give them the choice to dive or not, unless the Captain decides it's unsafe.
Furthermore, we are NOT a small "jumped up" operation- we've been in business for 16 years.
I'd really like to know where you're getting your information from, so I can set them straight.
Jesse, Subtropic Dive Center

 

[Ann Marie]

Nice photos! Looks like you had great viz. It is surprising how fast and how strong those currents can come up and can be. I love wreck photos in black and white. I usually do that to most of mine as well.

I was in the Keys for Invade the Keys in July with ScubaBoard and then met up with my husband to go on a cruise (one stop was Key West). I really wanted to dive the Vandy but decided to spend time with my husband (non-diver) It was a good thing as I caugt a cold a the day before getting into Key West.

I've dove with a few different dive ops down in the Keys and most of them discuss what to do if you get blown off the wreck. It certainly isn't the boat crew's fault, they are on the boat. It is something that just happens for various reasons, most often diver error.