$30m Legacy Aground Since Oct05 - Can She Refloat?

by Netscape.com on 29 Jul 2007 In an extraordinary sequence of events, Peter Halmos' 160-ft. yacht Legacy has been marooned 4 miles off Florida's Key West since Oct. 2005, when she was nearly ripped apart by Hurricane Wilma.

The yacht survived. So did Halmos and his crew, though it was a close call.

The luxury sailboat, valued at $30 million, remains stuck in the middle of an ocean wildlife refuge. Weathered, fouled and dismasted, she stands in sand and muck, surrounded by shallow reefs that make her nearly impossible to be extricated.

Halmos, 63, has tried various ways to wrest Legacy from her ill fate. He knows he must hurry, because South Florida's hurricane season has already begun.

'It's a race against nature,' said his New York-based public relations spokesman, Robert Siegfried. 'There's no margin for error now.'

Up until a year ago, Halmos and his captain had opted to stay aboard Legacy, waiting for the right time to move. But several elaborate attempts to free the vessel failed.

National coverage of the marooned ship, most notably in Vanity Fair magazine last year and recently on Fox News Channel, has lured a steady stream of curious tourists and souvenir-seeking scavengers.

Halmos and his crew no longer live aboard. They've retreated to a luxury 75-ft. houseboat, anchored in calm waters less than a mile away. After a few more houseboats joined him, he christened his new home 'Aqua Village.'

Utilized as a makeshift command center, it includes solar panels and windmills to generate power, with the goal of being pollution-free and as self-sufficient as possible.

'I think he just wants to stay there forever,' said Mark Schwed, a Palm Beach (Fla.) Post reporter who's covered the bizarre tale in recent months. That claim is rebutted by Siegfried.

'He plans to stay there until Legacy is salvaged,' Siegfried said of Halmos, who made his fortune in the 1970s after founding SafeCard Services. 'That's his most immediate goal. This has grown into a way of life for him.'

What happens if rescue efforts fail again? After all, Halmos has spent about $1 million trying to free the boat, most notably with a 50-by-1,000-ft. flat-bottom canvas structure that would have eased the vessel into deeper waters. But the yacht didn't budge. Neither have other efforts worked.

Siegfried concedes Legacy may eventually have to be carefully dismantled, piece by piece, to prevent environmental damage to the marine reserve. A final decision about when to end the 2-year marooning could be reached in a month or so.

'Nothing on the market has proved to be viable,' Siegfried said. 'We're down to the final course of action to make this work. Hopefully, Halmos will be successful.'