We had an incredible day of diving on the Vandenberg on
Saturday. Spree Expeditions, along with Captain Gary from Conch Republic Divers
put together another Vandenberg double dipper for Saturday the 17th. Only 5
divers signed up, but seeing as they’d driven all the way from Canada, we didn’t
want to disappoint them, so we went for a dive. We had 4 rebreathers (all inspo/evo’s)
and 2 open circuit extended range divers, so they opted for one long run-time
dive rather than 2 recreational length dives. We left the dock at about noon and
headed out to the Vandenberg about 40 minutes out. As we crossed the reef line,
I noticed the water was that incredible shade of blue that you don’t usually see
in Key West. We arrived at the Vandenberg, and I kept thinking something was
wrong with the wreck. I could clearly see the wreck, clearly see divers on it,
and it looked like the bridge was going to break the surface at any minute. I
couldn’t see bow to stern, but could easily see a couple hundred feet of wreck.
Incredible. We tied up on Buoy number 3, and set current lines. Surface current
was mild running from bow to stern, below 30 feet there was no current at all.
We could see the squall line crossing Key West in the distance with 2
waterspouts touching down between us and Stock Island.
The wind hit us as we were launching divers. 20-25 knots and seas blowing but
less than 2 feet. The tops of the whitecaps were blowing off, but the mighty
Spree was hardly rocking. I like this island diving way better than the open
ocean stuff in Texas. Seas in the Flower Gardens were running 5-7 feet
yesterday. Anyway, the divers were able to cover the whole wreck in a single
dive, although didn’t really take the time to explore much. I think this wreck
is good for a long weekend of diving if you really want to see the whole thing.
A single 2 hour dive is only kind of a teaser to me. All divers were back on
deck by 3 PM, and we were back at the dock around 4 PM, gear washed and hanging
to dry. 4 of the divers chose to stay on the Spree that night to see a bit of
Key West and have a nice meal at Conch Republic.
Capt Gary and I will do this again maybe in December. Call Conch Republic divers
if you are interested in really getting a chance to see the Vandenberg.
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