Time After Time
Some people joke that if it weren’t for bad luck, they’d have no luck at all. The renowned, 126-foot Time might have told similar tales. The world’s largest aluminum yacht was delivered in 1987, but over the last couple of decades, she’s been neglected—and even arrested. Despite a buyer committing to breathing new life into her, it just wasn’t meant to be. Or, more accurately, it wasn’t meant to be the way he expected. Time is submerged in 162 feet of water about 15 miles southeast of Florida’s Fort Pierce Inlet. She holds the distinction of being the first superyacht turned into an artificial reef, officially the A.A. Hendry Reef. Despite the many trials and tribulations that befell her, she has a happy ending.
Photo: Tom Serio
Time was built in Wisconsin at the Palmer Johnson shipyard. Besides being the world’s largest aluminum yacht, she had daringly different design. Time’s American owner, with the naval architect Tom Fexas, upended tradition with a super-sleek stance and dramatic curves flanking what today is called a multi-level, open-air beach club. Additionally, the 126-footer, with an interior by J.C. Espinosa and the architect Diane Atwood, achieved a top speed exceeding 30 knots.
Though it’s unclear when that owner sold her, a Mexican yachtsman acquired her in the early to mid-2000s. When he listed her for sale in 2007, yacht spotters noticed her looking worse for wear. The U.S. Marshals arrested Time shortly thereafter, according to Arthur Barbeito, a naval architect and the president of AMB Design Consulting Group. A client of Barbeito’s bought the yacht from the Marshals, intending a minor refit.
Things didn’t work out as planned, though. Once Time settled into a Miami shipyard, Barbeito says, they discovered mold in her insulation. Everything needed stripping out. Since the yacht was bare metal, the owner decided to add a pool aft and a gym below decks. “It was basically a do-over at that point,” Barbeito recalls. Work stopped for a few years at the owner’s request, but he contacted Barbeito again in 2021, wanting Time transported to a Stuart shipyard for the remaining rebuild. Sadly, furnishings hadn’t been kept in climate-controlled storage, and some of the installed wood paneling required replacing, too. The daunting (and expensive) prospect of starting over once again was too much for the owner to bear.
Photo: Tom Serio
While others might have sold her for scrap or abandoned her, Barbeito recommended donating her to create an artificial reef. Following inquiries up and down Florida’s east coast, the owner’s team met the Marine Cleanup Initiative (MCI), a non-profit in Fort Pierce promoting initiatives that improve Florida’s waters. Suitably, it managed five artificial-reef creations in 2021. MCI contacted colleagues at the St. Lucie County Artificial Reef Program, headed by Jim Oppenborn. “The yacht was handed to us on a silver—or aluminum, so to speak—platter,” Oppenborn says.
Thanks to fundraising efforts and donations from the owner and the Martin County Anglers Club, MCI managed the long prepping process for deployment. Beginning in the summer of 2022, the organization secured everything from the shipyards and craftspeople to the tugboats that transported Time from Fort Pierce on July 15th of this year. As the Coast Guard and dozens of boaters watched, Time sank stern first. Cheers, applause, and the sounds of horns filled the air as final tribute when her bow slipped out of sight.
Photo: Tom Serio
About two weeks after deployment, St. Lucie County conducted a dive assessment. Already, tiny organisms had attached to her structure, and amberjack and gray snapper, among other fish, were swimming amid hatches and decks. County and MCI representatives are eagerly anticipating a particular species of coral moving in, too. Oculina varicosa, AKA ivory tree coral, forms a 90-mile reef from Port Pierce to Daytona, the only one of its kind in the world. Two nearby ships-turned-artificial reefs have been documented with the rare coral as well. Scientists from nearby universities will be able to inspect Time for the coral, which could begin showing up within a year.
You should be able to see her, too, if you’re a technical diver. Her sinking coordinates were 27°26’12.0” N 80°01’08.0” W. Better yet, you can volunteer to assist the St. Lucie County artificial reef program with its inspections and data gathering.
Barbeito is glad the yacht has found a new purpose. “The fish population is so depleted, we need it,” he says. In reflecting on why his client fell in love with the yacht, he asserts, “It was a great boat. Tom was an excellent designer.”
Surely, the fish off Fort Pierce—and soon the coral—will agree.
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