Scenes from the sinking of the Voici Bernadette a 180-foot freighter that traveled the world for over 50 years. The freighter was donated to St. Lucie County's artificial reef program in 2018 after it was seized by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for transporting 800 bricks of cocaine from Haiti to Miami. The Bernadette will spend the rest of its days 100 feet below the surface playing host to all walks of marine life 11 miles southeast of Fort Pierce. As many as 150 boats followed two tug boats that hauled the German freighter to its final resting place June 23, 2019. [Photo: Kaila Jones]

Surrounded by well over 200 boats, the 180-foot freighter Voici Bernadette slipped under the waves Sunday, coming to rest 100 feet below to become St. Lucie County’s newest artificial reef. Those who had gathered seven miles out from shore sounded their ships’ horns and cheered as the ship took on enough water to disappear.

“Everybody was screaming,” said Kathy Green, one of the core volunteers who had helped raise monies to prepare the freighter for life as a reef. “It was insane.”

Mark Music, another core volunteer, marveled that after a year of prep work, it was done. “What have you done today?” he asked rhetorically. “We sank a pirate ship!”

The Voici Bernadette, which had sailed under a few nations’ flags, was ultimately seized by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection after it was found to be running drugs. The government arranged to transfer it to St. Lucie County last June so it could be stripped and cleaned – then sunk.

“There will be a next one,” Music said. “But we’re not thinking that far out.”

Music was one of the last to step foot on the Voici Bernadette before she sank. He helped to pull off the banners; another volunteer took down the American Flag. “It’s bittersweet,” Music said. “My job’s finished. It’s just really strange.”

Though Music’s “job” is done, the Voici Bernadette’s is just getting started. She will serve as a new dive site for recreational divers. The top of her ship sits at a 60-foot depth.

No divers were in the water when the Voici Bernadette went down, but there were several cameras affixed to the ship to capture footage. Music said he anticipates the video will be available in the near future. Three drones also flew overhead during the sinking, catching the scene from a bird’s-eye perspective.

The freighter is expected to quickly become a new habitat for a variety of fish and marine life. It will also serve as a test site for a lionfish device meant to attract the invasive species in the hope that someday the device could be modified to trap the critters and rid the waters of them.

Vivi Pipes, 10, watched Voici Bernadette sink. “It was shocking,” she said, to see such a large ship sink so quickly.

Vivi and her family previously participated in the pig roast fundraiser that, in part, helped the Voici Bernadette project.

“We’ve been watching” the process unfold regarding the Voici Bernadette, Vivi’s mom, Nyla Piper, said. “It’s pretty amazing.”