Rapa Nui Reef | Sinking + Scuba Diving Rapa Nui Reef | Deerfield Beach Rapa Nui Reef floated 70' above its final resting place. The tugboat's horn blew and the barge slowly started to sink into the Atlantic off the coast of Deerfield Beach. everyone was excited. A new reef to scuba dive in South Florida. Excitement slowly turned into sadness when one of the barge's corner started sinking faster than the others. Soon the whole edge is submerged as the south edge slowly rises out of the water then makes it's way into the ocean in a vertical motion. Silence. people are shocked of what just happened. Did it right it's self? It's too soon to tell. 30 minutes later, over the radio it was announced, "Rapa Nui Reef is upside down." Everyone was shocked. Rapa Nui Reef. The one of a kind reef did not go as planned. ----- Scuba Diving Rapa Nui Reef ----- A giant stride off Pompano Dive Center's Sea Siren into the Atlantic. As we slowly descended the tag line. What condition will the Rapa Nui Reef be in was on everyone's mind. Will the sculptures be scattered around the barge? With 20 foot visibility, we approached a rusty, rectangular object. No signs of Rapa Nui Reef. We reach the sand. Slowly fighting the current to see what's beneath the barge, no one was able to clearly define what we were looking at. We all knew we were looking at sadness. A major upset to the South Florida dive community. As we made our way around the barge, pieces of the Rapa Nui Reef broke off and were scattered. Re-bar's was exposed and Rusty water spewed out of the barge as it continued to settle. No one went below Rapa Nui Reef as it was not safe.. Rapa Nui Reef reached its final resting place 3 hours ago and we were among the first scuba divers to see it underwater. It's sad sight which resulted from only the best intentions. We will remember the Rapa Nui Reef the way it was at The Cove 48 hours before. A personal, special thanks goes out to the excellent team at Pompano Dive Center. http://www.PompanoDive.com Rapa Nui Reef | Sinking + Scuba Diving Rapa Nui Reef | Deerfield Beach