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Miami Herald, The (FL)
September 19, 2006

SINK OR SUNK? PLANNERS HOPE SHIP REEF ISN'T DEAD IN WATER
CAMMY CLARK, cclark@MiamiHerald.com
In 1996, dive boat captain Joe Weatherby started combing through files of 500 mothballed military ships looking for the perfect one to sink and turn into the Keys' largest artificial reef.
He chose the 1943 naval warship USS Hoyt S. Vandenberg, because its decontamination would be manageable and its irregular shape would be exciting for divers.
It took Weatherby and volunteers thousands of hours of work to navigate the ever-changing landscape of 16 government agencies to get the necessary permits to sink the 14,300-ton ship in the ocean just south of Key West, in the environmentally sensitive Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
But now, with a federal deadline looming, if $3.4 million in needed funds cannot be raised by Nov. 1, the only thing that will be sunk is the project itself.
``This is the last chance to do this,'' said Weatherby, president of the nonprofit Artificial Reefs of the Keys, or ARK, which has spearheaded the Vandenberg project.
The U.S. Maritime Administration, which owns the Vandenberg - now docked on Virginia's James River - will donate the ship to ARK and provide a $1.25 million grant toward its decontamination and transportation.
But the grant expires on Dec. 31 if the project is not fully funded - now at a price tag of about $5.7 million. The ship would then be delivered to a junkyard on Jan. 2 to become scrap metal.
The fate of the vessel, nicknamed the ``White Ghost'' for its Cold War days as a missile tracker, is in the hands of Keys politicians.
At a Monroe County budget meeting last week in Key Largo, Weatherby and several supporters pleaded their case - that ARK's request for $2 million from the county infrastructure fund would be returned to county taxpayers many times over in increased tourism revenue generated by the artificial reef.
While all five commissioners agreed the project was good for the county, Commissioners Dixie Spehar and George Neugent both asked: Where will the money come from?
The commission had just heard impassioned objections from residents regarding proposed cuts in county funding to three wild bird centers, a kids' program, the Arts Council and a popular Key Largo aquatic center.
The County Commission will vote on the project Wednesday at its final budget meeting. If the vote is no, Key West Mayor Morgan McPherson, a staunch supporter of the project, said it would have a ``crippling effect.''
If the vote is yes, the project still needs to come up with another $1.4 million. McPherson said the city is aggressively seeking state grants and private donations.
``The project is a no-brainer,'' McPherson said. ``It's not like building a new city hall and you have to maintain it with future costs. Once the ship is sunk, it's sunk.
``I don't know why it had stalled. I wasn't involved until recently. But I know all of a sudden, the county and city and state agencies are working together to make it happen. I haven't seen any effort more collaborative, with the exception of windstorm [insurance].''
Weatherby and volunteers also have spent many hours wooing financial backing that runs the gamut from the Maritime Administration to Jimmy Buffett's fan club.
Weatherby said it was difficult to nail down funding until the permitting was in place. That required much advance work, including a comprehensive plan on how to decontaminate the ship. The permit, which is held by the city of Key West, finally was received in March 2005, at a cost of around $300,000.
About $2.4 million of raised funds remains available, including the $1.25 million federal grant, $1 million from the Monroe County Tourist Development Council and $85,000 from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The sinking site was carefully chosen, in 140 feet of water between the Western Sambos Ecological Reserve and Sand Key. It's an area with little current, good visibility down to 60 to 80 feet, and far enough away from the natural reef.
McPherson agreed with supporters who say that turning the 10-story high, 520-foot-long ship into an artificial reef that draws new populations of fish would benefit the area economically by drawing more tourism. It would also ease the impact on the natural reef and could be turned into an underwater classroom and research site.
``I think it would be tremendous, with all the people that have a fascination with diving wrecks,'' said Bob Holston, operations director for Dive Key West. ``It's unique, drifting down water to a massive ship. Seeing that wreck would be like people seeing the Grand Canyon or the redwoods for the first time.''

Illustration:color photo: The decommissioned 1943 naval warship USS Hoyt S. Vandenberg (a)
photo: The USS Hoyt S. Vandenberg docked on Virginia's James River (a)
graphic: Locator map of where the Vandenberg is to be sunk (see microfilm)

COURTESY OF ARTIFICIAL REEFS OF THE KEYS DIVE-WORTHY: The decommissioned 1943 naval warship USS Hoyt S. Vandenberg is currently docked on Virginia's James River. Reef project organizers in the Florida Keys chose the Vandenberg as a potential dive site for its unique shape.
COURTESY OF ARTIFICIAL REEFS OF THE KEYS ON LAST LEGS: If enough funds are not raised, the Vandenberg will be sent to a junkyard to become scrap metal.