St. Lucie County recently acquired the Voici Bernadette from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency in Miami. This 180-foot vessel was cleaned, inspected and deployed off our coast in roughly 100 feet of water as a future artificial reef on Sunday, June 23, 2019.

This site was named the Curtis Bostick Artificial Reef, thanks to a generous donation from the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA).

Post-deployment dives confirm the ship is upright and stationed at the permitted site. The official GPS coordinates are:

• Wheelhouse coordinates - 80*02.985' 27*23.870'
• Bow coordinates - 80*02.970', 27*23.865'

Over the past 15 years, St. Lucie County has successfully deployed more than 55 artificial reefs that provide habitat to essential commercial and recreational fish species, including snapper and grouper, as well as providing critical hard-bottoms for corals and sponges to grow on.