SHIP SHAPE
Alittle more than a week has passed since the sinking of the Vandenberg as an artificial reef, and local dive shops are buzzing with activity.
"I have the most pre-bookings for the summer than I've had in 38 years," said Bob Holston, co-owner of Dive Key West on North Roosevelt Boulevard. "We have three to four of us on the phones almost all day long."
Holston said his work days have stretched to 15 hours, and he has to force himself to stop answering the phones and go home at 7 p.m.
"I tell you what, if you could see the phone calls ... It's nonstop," he said, adding that e-mail inquiries also have increased. "I'm averaging a dozen e-mail reservations a day just for the Vandenberg."
Holston said he's added three instructors to his staff in the last month to handle the increased business, and the shop isn't even accepting all the requests it receives.
"If we booked everyone that wanted to go on it, my boats would be full," he said. "We're not accepting all of them, because some of the people aren't qualified."
Dive Key West requires divers to present a log book that shows they've made at least 10 dives. They also must have a surface marker buoy and a cutting device. All dives are guided, with one instructor for every four people.
"It's a wonderful dive. I've been on it twice and I probably haven't seen [even] 2 percent of it," Holston said.
Subtropic Dive Center has experienced a similar influx of calls.
"Business is definitely picking up. The phone's been ringing off the hook. It's not even season yet, so it's a good sign," said reservations clerk Jesse Opie. "I just had someone calling to book in December, so people are definitely booking ahead."
Subtropic owner Robin Lockwood said he purchased a second boat to handle the expected rise in visitors this summer. The new 40-foot dive boat can accommodate about 25 divers. His other boat handles about half a dozen.
We are seeing a lot of interest in diving here," Lockwood said. "We have people coming in who came specifically to dive the Vandenberg.
"We have had numerous instructors from dive shops up the Keys come down to our shop to dive the Vandenberg, and they are planning to bring students down in the future from the Upper Keys."
Divercity, a small and fairly new operation, hired two more employees to answer phones and work on the boat, owner Michael O'Connor said.
"Business has increased by about four to five divers a day," he said. "I've been getting e-mails from people who are making plans for their summer vacation to come to Key West instead of other places."
His most advanced booking is for Labor Day.
In addition to an influx of divers who want to experience the Vandenberg, Lost Reef Adventure is enjoying more walk-in business for reef dives from those who were turned away elsewhere because they didn't have the proper certification.
"We're having more business and bigger trips, not just to the Vandenberg," dive master trainee Jeremy Barish said, adding the average four- to six-person trip has grown to 10 divers. "We're waiting for summer to start to see a big rise."
Eric Schaaf, general manager at Southpoint Divers, also said he expects the new wreck to generate of lot of interest from people who normally dive the Upper Keys.
"People who are coming and would normally dive in Key Largo now will also come here," Schaaf said. "I definitely think it's going to increase the business for the summer."
Schaff said he's also expecting to have to tap into a list of certified staff and instructors in town for the overflow business.
Captain's Corner said almost all of its calls since the May 27 sinking have been directly about the Vandenberg.
"A lot of people are coming down in the summer and they want to make sure it's available to them," Assistant Manager Leslie Levis said.
Even if just a fraction of the number of calls per hour translate to actual bookings, it's shaping up to be a spectacular summer for diving in Key West, she said.
Subtropic's Lockwood said everyone he's spoken to is impressed with the Vandenberg, the world's second-larges artifical reef.
"They think it's the greatest artificial wreck dive they've seen because of the size and the complexity," he said. "It certainly has been a big boon to diving in Key West."
Trickle down
The head of Lodging Association of the Florida Keys and Key West said it's a bit too to determine whether those dive trip bookings are translating into increased summer hotel bookings.
"[The hotels] are not tracking it that well yet. It's a little soon yet for that," said lodging association President Jodi Weinhofer. "I'm sure once they get their [dive] trip booked then they'll go ahead and book their accommodations. I do think we'll see some from it, absolutely."
While many Vandenberg inquires are coming from in-state and around the country, many Europeans also are interested in coming to dive the wreck. That group typically takes their vacation in the early fall, Holston said. Also, they need more planning time to make the trip from Europe.
Key West Chamber of Commerce President Michael Knowles said the chamber is using feedback from dive shops as an indicator of what to expect for the summer.
"If the dive shops are going to be up 15 percent, then the hotels are going to be up 15 percent, because they've got to stay somewhere," Knowles said. "Hopefully we'll see some of that trickle down to the hotels and the retail businesses."
amswary@keysnews.com
