A shifting of the satellite dishes atop the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg during its Wednesday sinking has delayed the opening of the wreck for all visitors until at least Saturday morning.

Until officials announce the artificial reef is open, a 500-yard security zone remains around the wreck site. No unauthorized vessels or divers are permitted in the security zone.

A contractor today is expected to secure the dishes, which separated from their pedestals, but still are being held in place by a thick cable, according to Andy Newman, spokesman for the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

On Thursday, as Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary dive teams were completing the installation of mooring buoys, technical dive crews were taking still and video images of the dishes for Key West City Manager Jim Scholl to review and decide a course of action.

With the team's advice, the former Navy captain had a choice between three options: leave the dishes intact, remove them or further secure them.

"We want a safe-as-possible dive experience for the public," Scholl said. "We certainly understand that divers are anxious to explore the wreck, but ask that they be patient and wait one more day."

One diver allegedly did not wait and was cited by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, agency spokesman Bobby Dube said.

Capt. Peter Wassylenko of Bonsai Diving, who runs a 23-foot World Cat boat out of Garrison Bight, was cited for diving in a restricted area, a misdemeanor criminal charge, Dube said.

Wassylenko said wreck officials told him the site would be open Thursday morning, so he headed out with two other divers at about 8 a.m., he said.

There was nothing in the water to denote it was closed and other dive boats were on the site when all three surfaced, Wassylenko claimed.

"We were told that once the marine balls went up and clearance divers cleared the site it was OK to dive the wreck," Wassylenko said. "The other divers were not cited. Does that sound fair to you?"

Those divers likely were the official crews working on the buoys or the dishes, and they had not cleared the site when Wassylenko dove.

Wassylenko blamed officials for not doing a better job of informing dive masters of the rules.

"I've never been cited by the [state] in 20 years of doing this," he said. "I run a safe operation and never had any accidents or incidents."

During the sinking, authorities more than once had to ask Wassylenko to move out of the one-mile-radius restricted area, Dube said. Wassylenko claims his GPS showed he was adhering to the perimeter.

The Coast Guard and Monroe County State Attorney's Office will review the charge and could drop it or even upgrade it to a felony. The Coast Guard and wildlife commission are continuing to investigate the case and have not presented it to the state attorney, Dube said.

mbolen@keysnews.com