A missile-tracking ship named the General Hoyt S. Vandenberg is the next vessel slated for use as an artificial reef in the Florida Keys. The $5M project sponsored by Artificial Reefs of the Keys has raised $3M and they're looking to get the last bit from an eBay auction.

More specifically, they're looking for someone with deep pockets interested in having the reef named after them. A "legacy" as they put it. It's probably a longer-lasting legacy than the $50 brick I bought at Disney's Epcot Center many years ago but the opening bid of $900K is out of my price range by about $899,900 and the reserve is set at $1.3M. Perhaps I should look into a less expensive option.

Check out the eBay listing for some history of the ship which served in WWII and finally for NASA before being decommissioned in 1983. The comments at the end of the eBay listing are entertaining, like this one: "Can it be a humorous name like Nuclear Dump Site. This name may also keep cargo ships from getting to near the reef!"

The auction ends November 15th and if ARK can't raise the remainder, the Vandenberg is off to the scrapyard. BTW, there is one bid already.

(Thanks Bryan!)