The Sinking of the Adolphus Busch Dec. 1998

In the past few months I’ve talked about some of the hot spots down here in the Lower Keys like our new and enormous wreck dive the Vandenberg and Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary.  We certainly can’t miss out on our other wreck dive in the Lower Keys, the  Adolphus Busch.  Sunk in Dec. of  1998,  it’s another great wreck dive and one you’ll want to add to your list when you’re doing your “wreck week” of diving. It’s located about 3 miles west of Looe Key.

This ship is  a 210′  freighter that’s well thought out for advanced divers and a real safe wreck dive.  If you haven’t dove a wreck before this is a great spot to get your wreck diving specialty certification.   Many instructors use it for that very purpose.  The ship sits in about 110’ of depth just off the reef and the top is right around 60’ and the smoke stack is just a bit shallower.  It’s a cargo ship and yes,  it’s from the family that owns the Busch Brewing Co. but all of the product is gone.  The ship has been down for so long there is just a ton of growth on the ship.  There is a wide variety of fish life that call this ship home, like large Goliath Groupers which are usually on or around the ship. Many times we’ve actually seen a 400 pounder in the wheel house.

Except for going down to the engine room where you’ll see on old fashioned tub,  the rest of the wreck is mainly set up so you can see through to the exit. Make sure first to look for the exits before going in.  You’ll need to go into the engine room with somebody that has done it before and make sure you’re trained to do so. The bow usually holds a large green moray eel and of course large amounts of fish as well. Going down into the cargo holds it is very open, very wide and of course they go deep. The bow and the wheel house are the two best spots on the ship to spend most of your dive.  To get more credit on your dive computers ascend right next to the wheel house where you’ll be in about 65’ of water where you can just watch the show.   The fish will be all around you and you’ll have a great view of the entire ship.  There are four mooring balls on the Busch.  Two for diving and two for fishing.  Make sure you pick the right one since the diving moorings are actually attached to the ship.  Again, keep an eye out for currents but on clear days the fish will still be hanging out with you even on your safety stop.

Many dive shops have trips running out to this wreck. If you want to see the sinking of the ship you can go to http://www.n-the-florida-keys.com/Adolphus-Busch.html.  This is a wreck I dive often and if you’ve dived this wreck before you’ll always have a different type of dive no matter how many times you go see her.

The conditions in the Lower Keys are still pretty warm even though the rest of the country is seeing a season change we haven’t.  Water temps have dropped just a few degrees and conditions are just great.  This is such a great time of year to dive and of course it’s always a good time to dive the Adolphus Busch.

Remember slow ascents and safety stops on each and every dive. See you on the bottom.

Shawn Hull is a PADI Dive Instructor who lives and dives (as often as possible) in the Lower Keys.

Tropicals on the reef at Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary

Last month we talked about the Vandenberg. This month let’s cover a spot that most divers frequent, Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary. Looe Key Reef is a very popular dive spot for many different reasons and is located just off of Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys.  This reef got its name from the HMS Looe which supposedly ran aground there in 1744 while towing a captured French ship, the Snow. While crossing the reef, the HMS Looe hit hard in only 25 feet of water and quickly burned to the waterline, taking the accompanying ship with her. Some pieces of thin copper, possibly hull sheathing, and a piece of concrete located in that area of the reef seem to indicate that the ballast and wreckage found there may be from a wreck more closely resembling a 19th century merchantman.

Many divers mark their calendars and plan their trips around this spectacular dive site. Looe Key offers an incredible amount of marine life and some great coral formations. We are most concerned down here in the Florida Keys about protecting our reefs and of course the beautiful coral. Like the Upper Keys you’ll still find some Elkhorn coral at this dive site.

Looe Key is a marine sanctuary and so it’s a “no take” zone. You’ll find some yellow buoys that mark the boundaries of this dive site. There is no anchoring so there are a ton of balls to tie up to. Several dive shops along the lower keys run daily trips out to this dive site. It’s probably one of the best dives in the Lower Keys. Seems like the marine life know they are protected so they are in abundance. What sets this dive apart from the rest, is the variety of marine life you will see on just one dive.

The reef is shallow,  you’ll max your dive out at about 25’ which will give you ample bottom time. Visibility is usually pretty good and even better on an incoming tide.  There are fingers that you will navigate in between on this dive.  Around every bend you’ll usually find a surprise like pompanos, tarpon, reef sharks (friendly and used to divers), turtles and of course some Goliath Grouper just to name a few.  The reef is about 800 yards long and 200 yards wide so you’ll have many options.  Look at the current and where other boats are positioned prior to tying up. I like the west end myself.  There are a few resident Goliath Grouper and sharks that seem to stay in that area, however there is no bad spot at Looe Key.  Buoyancy is very important here as in any dive.

Remember not to kick or touch the coral. Divers always have to be responsible of the impact they leave on a dive site. This is also a great snorkel spot .  If you have friends that don’t dive, this is the place you want to bring them to. Conditions have been good recently and the water has been pretty clean, just pay attention to that afternoon thunderstorm. If you are going to dive the Lower Keys, Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary is a must dive.

So I’ll see you underwater sometime. Remember slow ascents and safety stops for each one of your divers.

Shawn

Shawn Hull is a PADI Dive Instructor who lives and dives (as often as possible) in the Lower Keys.

Things have calmed down now that lobster mini season has come and gone and it’s back to normal around here. Meaning, there’s actually space to go boating now and it’s safer to go diving where we locals like to dive.  The water is warm and the visibility has certainly improved from the month of July. We had many weeks where the viz was not good and you really had to go west to get to better conditions.

The news of course, in the Lower Keys has been the sinking of the Vandenberg.   Most diehard divers have tracked this project for a long time and if you haven’t been in a cave, you’ve heard about this incredible wreck dive that is finally below the surface and in our backyard. The sinking made national headlines and of course I received calls from family members from the west coast telling me they saw the sinking on TV. Well the pool is finally open and it’s a great wreck dive if not one of the best wreck dives I’ve dived on this side of the planet. I’ve dove the “Vandy” as we call it down here about 6-8 times. Usually every weekend now we are diving the ship.

Let’s step back in time just for a second before we actually talk about what it’s like diving the Vandy. It’s been a project that taken over 10 years to sink. For years we heard about the project and of course we had our doubts whether it was going to happen or not. The project almost stopped last May when the funding once again halted those plans. Many people finally saw the impact this ship would have in our community financially. The recession I think closed the deal that it needed to be in Key West and quick. When the ship finally arrived in Key West people flocked down to the dock to see this “huge” ship.  It’s one thing to dive a ship under the water but it’s another thing getting to see it before it goes down. At 522 feet, this is the largest wreck dive now in the Keys for recreational divers and pretty much the largest on this side of the planet.  It was fun listening to the divers that came to see the ship at the dock talking to themselves about how they would dive in that spot or go on the bridge or dive under that satellite dish, etc.

So the magic day arrived, the day we all had been waiting for.  Of course seeing all of the excitement,  I certainly didn’t want to miss out on watching her slip below the surface, so I took my Cabo out to watch  along with another 1000+  other friends and boats and anchored up to watch a once in a lifetime show. At 10:21am on May 27th we heard a big bang and then plumes of smoke from the ship and one minute and 44 seconds later she was gone….TIME TO DIVE…!

Three days after the sinking we had our chance. So assuming that of course the rest of the world would be ready and waiting for a ball to tie up to as soon as the sun came up, we left early and raced out to the ship. Well 7:30, we think that’s early.  The ship is sunk in about 150’ of water. The top of the ship is at about 50’ of water you can see it when you arrive, just look down. To our surprise my dive buddy “Vinny” and I couldn’t believe it.   We were the only ones there. Holy smoke we had the ship to ourselves. First thing to do is check which direction the current is going to as always you want to start your dive against the current so we picked our ball,  tied up, slid our fins on and we were blowing bubbles. It’s funny, I’ve been diving for 30 years, been teaching diving 20 years and I felt just as excited that day as the first day I learned to dive. When I submerged and the bubbles cleared away,  there she was. She actually looked like a new ship.  She was shiny, a bright white all across the ship.  No growth of course yet so it just beamed underwater. You get underwater and you can see just how small we are and how big she is.   This is a dive that could take you 6-8 dives to see a good part of the ship. This ship is so ideal for every level of diver. An open water diver will have a field day.  Just being at the 60’ level of your training you’re on the decks and really diving the entire ship. For the advanced divers, they can hit the decks below and of course with proper training and wreck diving certification penetrate the wreck as well. There are many areas you can swim through that are short and you can see the other side.  Bottom line, this ship offers something for everyone.

We actually used dive scooters for most of our dives so we could cover more of the ship.  First dive, awesome.  Three days after sinking, just awesome. We found air pockets, state rooms, looked at ourselves in the mirror and  penetrated the wreck –  just awesome. The ship has been down now for a few months so with each dive we have started seeing more fish life on the wreck. Growth started to appear first, then we started seeing a lot of bait fish and then the yellowtails.  In July we saw twenty big AJ’s off the stern of the ship and some grouper. In just a few short months the transformation has been amazing.

I’ll go into more detail on the ship in another article,  but bottom line it’s one of those dives you just need to do. The entire Florida Keys offers some of the best wreck diving in the world (maybe besides Truk Lagoon however that’s a quite a trip!) As locals, we dive the ship now in the late morning which is about when the dive shops from Key West are leaving. Be watchful of the current when you arrive,  it really can run out there so be mindful of it and don’t venture away from the ship.

www.bigshipwrecks.com is a great resource to read up on the Vandy. I love this link on Facebook as it has some great videos you can see of the ship as well http://www.facebook.com/pages/USNS-Vandenberg-Artificial-Reef/93532765943?re
Remember to dive safe.  Slow ascents and safety stops are a must on the Vandy or any dive.
Blow some bubbles and enjoy the Vandy, you won’t be disappointed.

Shawn Hull
PADI Dive Instructor