BARGE SINKS, RUINS $500,000 RAPA NUI ARTIFICIAL REEF (VIDEO)

New Times ^ | 6/8/15 | DEIRDRA FUNCHEON

[SoFloFreeper]

For months, hype has been building about a set of 15 giant sculptures that were built and designed to be sunk yesterday off the coast of Deerfield Beach, making an artificial reef for scuba divers to explore. These pieces were eight to 22 feet tall and designed as replicas of the mysterious heads at Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui. But things took a bizarre turn when the barge carrying the sculptures tipped over and sunk on top of them, crushing them all.

[SoFloFreeper]

At least TAXPAYER money wasn't wasted:

project was conceived and funded by Margaret Blume, described as a Boca Raton philanthropist, who spent $500,000 from her family trust to make it a reality. On the project website, rapanuireef.com, she explained that she was inspired when she saw a photo of an underwater sculpture in Mexico, and her husband and son helped think of the Easter Island idea.

[blueunicorn6]

What a headache.

[rktman]

I’m sorry that I find this humorous. Maybe.

[BenLurkin]

Cool idea. Shame it went bust.

[MrEdd]

I can’t take it anymore.
Head games.

[Larry Lucido]

Shipwrecks make good reefs.

[Vince Ferrer]

Divers will have a nice shipwreck to explore though, so there’s that.

[BenLurkin]

[SaxxonWoods]

Neat idea, skimped on the logistics, paid the price.

[BenLurkin]

http://www.trbimg.com/img-55749c57/turbine/sfl-barge-flips-and-crushes-rapa-nui-reef-20150607

[tet68]

Gee, a top loaded flat bottom barge tipped over
as it filled.
What the heck were they thinking?
I guess it didn’t occur to them to put
some air bags on the sculptures...

[Boogieman]

Well, the good news is, to the fish, nothing is ruined. They’ll make a reef out of that barge and the rubble of the sculptures just as happily as they’d make a reef out of the sculptures alone :)

[Red Badger]

It’ll still make a great reef..................fish don’t appreciate art anyways....................

[from occupied ga]

The fish don’t care. They’ll take it and move in upside down as well as right side up

[RightOnTheBorder]

This sounds to me to be an even better artificial reef than the one planned. Now you have a shipwreck to explore and a more realistic “sunken civilization” replica.

[TexasCajun]

After the sinking, Arilton Pavan of Dixie Divers told assembled reporters in broken English that it was supposed to be "a controlled sink, that's mean a small amount of water going in, and slowly taking place...

Control Fail.

[beelzepug]

“...Margaret Blume, described as a Boca Raton philanthropist, who spent $500,000 from her family trust ...”

A fool and her money...

[Red Badger]

No Moai..............

[GreyFriar]

I got a chuckle that “the ocean” didn’t want images of a pagan civilization established off the coast of Florida.

[Larry Lucido]

That is Reef-er Madness!