The two-and-a-half-year saga of the sailing yacht Legacy just got a whole lot more positive.
The 158-foot Perini Navi, which has been stuck in sand and sea grass off Key West since Hurricane Wilma pushed her there in late 2005, finally broke free on February 26. Her owner, Pete Halmos, e-mailed Capt. Tom Serio, a reporter for The Triton, a crew newspaper that’s been following the story, in the wee hours of that morning. “We busted loose today,” Halmos wrote.
If e-mail could express emotion, no doubt those words would have been screaming from the screen. Ever since Halmos and some friends decided to ride out Wilma onboard the megayacht, he’s been involved in one nightmarish situation after another. When Legacy’s anchor didn’t hold during the storm, the hurricane tossed her around for miles until finally depositing her in that spot off Key West–which turned out to be a federally protected area. Her mast was broken off, but her hull stayed intact, and even though both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Halmos both agreed that the yacht needed to be removed without further damaging the sea grass, they couldn’t come to terms on how best to do so for months and months. On top of that, would-be trespassers kept approaching Legacy, so Halmos, his captain, and some crewmembers lived onboard for six months and then moved aboard houseboats anchored close by. Halmos told the Associated Press last October that he was spending about $1 million per month maintaining the boats and trying to move Legacy and would do whatever was necessary to get her out of there responsibly.
The way the sailing yacht finally came free is a saga in itself. After some unsuccessful attempts, hope floated when specially commissioned equipment that displaced the sand in front of her, foot by foot, allowed a towing vessel ahead of Legacy to begin pulling her forward. It was a slow process that took six months, but the yacht was liberated.
What’s next? Towing her to the mainland in anticipation of sending her to a repair yard. Legacy apparently can sail again, though understandably time and weather have taken their toll on her, as you can see in the photo above (courtesy of SuperyachtTimes.com). Will it be worth it? The only one who can answer that is Halmos, but even so, matters of the heart often overrule matters of the mind.
Joan Medland
This boat has currently anchored in Ft Pierce Fl for almost a year. It is located near a boat repair yard.
It seems strange that a beautiful yacht like this has basically been abandoned.
Does the owner intend to restore this yacht to its former glory or abandon it? What a shame if it’s the later and have it become a derelict vessel.