What is that bizarre boat moored in the Indian River Lagoon?
Is it a boat? Is it a plane? Is it a UFO?
Half a mile north of the Banty Saunders drawbridge in Fort Pierce — aka the north bridge — is moored something that looks more like something created by NASA than by a boatbuilder. It's over 54 feet wide, nearly 69 feet long and is a trimaran, meaning it has three hulls touching the water. And it's clearly damaged.
Whatever it is, passersby want to know what it is doing in the middle of the Indian River Lagoon. Where did it come from? Why is it here and for how long? And what happened to it?
What's the Ultim'Emotion 2 trimaran?
About two weeks ago, the red and silver-hulled Ultim'Emotion 2 racing trimaran arrived on the Treasure Coast after motoring south along the Intracoastal Waterway from Charleston, S.C.
In June 2022, Ultim'Emotion 2 was one of two multihulls competing in the Newport to Bermuda Race, a 187-yacht, 600-mile, open-sea sailing race from Rhode Island to Bermuda. The Ultim'Emotion 2 was about 160 miles from Newport and had a 10-mile lead on the eventual race winner and record-setter, Argo. In 20-25 knot winds, Ultim'Emotion 2's 102-foot-tall mast began to separate from its carbon fiber hull.
Fortunately, none of the sailboat's racing crew were injured during the catastrophic failure. It took 27 hours for the boat to get back to Newport with a Coast Guard escort, according to a Facebook post.
Sunflower Foundation aims to buy trimaran
At the time, the Ultim'Emotion 2 was owned by Antoine Rabaste of France and was being skippered by Jacek Siwek of Belgium. It's unclear what happened next, but Superyacht Times listed the boat for sale for $180,000.
The boat had been built by French yacht builder Chantier Multiplast in 2002 for an unknown owner. During the peak of the racing yacht's career, it had been offered for sailing charters for guests for about $32,000 a week.
Although its mast was lost at sea during the racing incident, it can still move around thanks to a small inboard engine.
Enter Peter Murray of Fort Pierce. Murray is involved with the Treasure Coast-based Sunflower Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to educate the public about environmentally responsible alternatives to fossil fuel boat engines. One way Murray does that is by introducing children to sailing adventures.
Murray said he hopes to repair the Ultim'Emotion 2 and use it to take kids sailing from organizations such as the Boys & Girls Clubs.
Deadline blown: NOAA missed deadline, delaying new Lake O plan for 2nd time; Army Corps should move on
Ramp rage? Boat ramps should be resilient against hurricanes, king tides and sea level rise
How an 85-foot-tall bridge is still too low
Murray said the nonprofit is still working out the ownership details. And he's not even sure where it can be repaired because its beam and design make it difficult to move into any Treasure Coast boatyard.
Another looming problem is the height of the span bridge currently under construction to replace the 1963 drawbridge. The trimaran and at least two other boats Murray said he knows are coming to the Fort Pierce area have masts that exceed the planned 85-foot vertical clearance from the surface of the lagoon.
Murray said he had repeated email communications with Florida Department of Transportation engineers and bridge construction planners, requesting either a taller bridge or a 55- to 65-foot bridge with a draw for boats like Ultim'Emotion 2. He'll obviously have to moor on the south side of the bridge to access the Fort Pierce Inlet.
When and where the boat is repaired and its future status will be something for passersby to keep an eye on.
Ed Killer is an outdoors columnist for TCPalm. Email him at ed.killer@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Red Ultim'Emotion 2 trimaran racer moored off North Bridge Fort Pierce
