DESCRIPTION:
Max depth: 96ft
Bottom time: 22 minutes
Dive op: Captain's Corner
Shot on GoPro Hero3 Black Edition

About the Vandenberg wreck:

Length: 524 ft 10 in
Beam: 71.5 ft
Height: 100 feet from keel to highest point.

The ship was built in 1943 by Kaiser Shipyard in California. Originally named the USS Gen Harry Taylor, she was commissioned as a troop transporter, carrying personal during the last years of WWII. She was the first ship to return to New York Harbor after the surrender of Japan and stayed in service until 1958 when she was decommissioned. In 1961, the ship was acquired by the Air Force and re-comssioned as USAF's Gen Hoyt Vandenberg as a missile tracking ship. In 1983 she was re-acquired by the Navy and continued to serve as a missile tracking ship until she was retired in 1983.

On May 27, 2009 at 10:21 AM, the Vandenberg was sunk to become the largest artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and the second largest in the world. The ship settled upright on her keel in 1 minute 44 seconds, exactly as predicted by the many model tests performed to design the sink plan. Marine life began colonizing immediately and the ship is now home to pelagic and reef fish, and many other species of marine plants and animals.