Superyacht Finds New Purpose As An Artificial Reef Off Florida’s Coast

In a bid to bolster marine life and promote sustainability, a 126-foot yacht known as Time, originally built by Palmer Johnson in 1988, has taken on a new role as an artificial reef off the coast of Fort Pierce, Florida. The scuttling initiative, which saw the vessel deliberately sunk, took place near the Fort Pierce Sportfishing Club, where it is set to benefit coral, divers, and fish along Florida’s Atlantic coast.

The project emerged from a joint effort between the Marine Cleanup Initiative (MCI) and St. Lucie County’s Artificial Reef Program, which aims to enhance the local marine ecosystem by creating artificial reefs. With approximately 55 other vessels already sunk along the coast for this purpose, Time is expected to enrich the underwater landscape further and foster biodiversity.

Time was designed by Tom Fexas and powered by Detroit Diesel engines. It had a top speed of 31 knots. However, the vessel had languished in disuse for 15 years before it found a new purpose by being donated to a local nonprofit. Before the scuttling, the yacht had to be prepared to sink, and so its engines and interior fittings were removed to ensure it was primed for its transformation into a thriving reef habitat.

Now christened as the A.A. Hendry Reef, in honor of a local family, the yacht has settled at a depth of approximately 150 feet. 

Christa Stone, director of operations at MCI, told WPTV.com that the aluminum is set to attract spores of culinary varicose, a delicate white fan-like coral. This will mark the first-ever culinary nursery outside the established culinary banks. In total, it will take a year before it becomes habitable for marine life.

According to Robb Report, this isn’t the first yacht to transform into a coral reef. In February, a 53-foot motoryacht was sunk in the Chesapeake Bay, joining 21 other vessels making up a stretch of artificial reefs near Maryland’s Love Point. Other boats have also been scuttled off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

[via Robb Report and Boat International, images via Marine Cleanup Initiative]