It took more than a decade, but the wait was probably worth it. The 523-foot-long Vandenberg, a retired Air Force missile tracking ship, is close to finishing its 1,100- mile journey from Chesapeake Bay to the bottom of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

In mid-April, tugboats slowly crawled down the Eastern Seaboard--Vandenberg in tow--making their way toward an eventual site about six miles south of Key West in 140 feet of water. But before the ship can be sunk, project organizers expect a month of maintenance in preparation for the drop. Already, some 75,000 man-hours were required to rid the vessel of contaminants, said Jeff Dey, of Reefmakers, to several news sources.

Divers are chomping at the bit to put on their fins and facemask, and go exploring. "There are a dozen dive points that will come within 40 to 50 feet of the surface, while deeper areas will provide opportunities for advanced divers," said Joe Weatherby, founder of Artificial Reefs of the Keys. "At about 100 feet, the properly trained and equipped technical diver will be able to swim a full 475 feet along the starboard section of Deck 1." Once dropped, the Vandenberg will become the second largest ship to be sunk off the Florida coast, passing up the Spiegel Grove near Key Largo.

A bit of trivia: The Vandenberg retired in 1983 after tracking Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space launches off Cape Canaveral, but gained most its public attention in 1999 in the movie "Virus."