S/Y Legacy is floating free once again after being marooned for more than two years north of the Florida Keys.

The exciting moments came on Monday, Feb. 25, under the right conditions and with a little bit of luck.

"We busted loose today," owner Peter Halmos announced in an e-mail at about 1:30 a.m. the following morning.

A definite sense of relief was felt in those words, not only by the man who wrote them, but also a bit by those of us who have been following Legacy's saga.

In an interview a few days later, Halmos said it was a relief to accomplish what he'd set out to do recover his beloved 158-foot Perini Navi megayacht while minimizing the impact to the environment.

Halmos lived on a houseboat during the extensive effort to free the megayacht. He said he has spent an estimated $1 million a month during the recovery period.

Plans to refurbish Legacy are still in the works as Halmos focuses on getting the yacht towed to Miami, hauled and inspected. There is no schedule yet on when she will be shipped back to Italy for refurbishing.

"I'm taking it one step at a time," Halmos said.

Obstacles from the insurance claims process to environmental regulations slowed the already laborious process and Halmos had to cover the initial efforts to free the megayacht.

"I paid $400,000 in advance to the first company to come on site some guy in a motorhome with a surf board," he said, shrugging. "What did I know back then? He came recommended."

That early attempt involved sandbags and flotation foam, "a big laugh," according to Halmos.

At the same time, he found Fas-Dam, a private engineering firm whose cofferdam system became the solution to free Legacy.

Halmos had to change salvage companies, which is not easy. He had to reapply for permits and wait for approval. After months of waiting and $500,000 more, Halmos sent Fas-Dam home after receiving a permit that would have held him responsible for up to $22 million in remediation and fines.

Frustrated by delays and hemorrhaging money, Halmos said he needed better representation. In stepped Tom Campbell, former NOAA general counsel, and Craig O'Connor, current NOAA general counsel.

Now, Halmos said, "The nonsense stopped."

The three men renewed their focus.

Halmos directed that a new permit to use Fas-Dam had to be in place by New Year's Eve, or else he will take it all into his own hands. By 11 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2006, Halmos had a permit, to his terms, to proceed.

"NOAA had to understand that they were not dealing with some two-bit idiot that could be pushed around," Halmos said.

The permit, or contract, gave Halmos immunity and release from anything, although certain obligations were still on the table, such as repairing the sea grass at the location where Legacy sat.

By this time, Halmos was having second thoughts about the Fas-Dam process, a gut feeling that something was amiss, and he didn't want to use it. But the permit from NOAA was for Fas-Dam, so Halmos brought the company back and paid for it start the recovery process.

In the end, the Fas-Dam technique didn't work and by this time, the 2007 hurricane season was fast approaching and Legacy was still in the same place it had been in the fall of 2005.

Did it ever occur to Halmos to cut his megayacht up to get it out?

"I never considered it," he said. "Legacy saved my life; I was going to save hers."

Enter Byrd Commercial Diving of Miami, a marine salvage company amongst other things.

Dave Byrd and his team had an idea for getting Legacy out, but it would take some special equipment and a new process to do it correctly. So Byrd found the equipment, Halmos paid for it all ($100,000 for the pump, $30,000 for the generator, etc.), and the "dredging" process began.

The goal was to dredge just enough material to get Legacy's keel to slide along. It worked, but there were still issues.

With the seemingly constant windy conditions and cold fronts pushing through the area, the bow of Legacy would be set off course, causing her to bind up against the side of the dredged channel.

Pulling Legacy out was the Byrd vessel Helen B, a utility tug boat with heavy winches and block and tackle gear. Helen B was anchored about a mile from Legacy, with shots of cable connected to make it from one vessel to the other and held in place with 16-ton anchors. She was limited to 50 tons of pulling power to minimize damaging either vessel or gear.

After about six months of digging, pulling, making significant headway, Halmos tasted freedom. But one more issue would come up, stopping Legacy in her tracks.

While pulling the last few hundred yards, and dredging at a shallower depth, Legacy would actually cantilever on the bottom of her hull, forcing her rudder into the sea floor.

"Duh, it's the rudder, stupid," Halmos said, chuckling.

A little more digging solved that problem and Legacy was freed at last.

Once afloat and nestled up alongside of the Helen B, workers moved the megayacht to a deepwater spot in Key West Harbor. Halmos said he will try to get his former skipper, Capt. Ed Collins, back for a few days to try to get the engines restarted.

"Capt. Ed is also an engineer, and I find that type of background invaluable," he said. "Any captains I have in the future will also have to be an engineer."

Halmos has been working with his insurance carrier to settle some of the claims, which was difficult at first but has improved now that he has a single representative working with him.

The peace may have been fostered over the rep's homemade dinners.

"Pamela Hastings-Forkey has done a tremendous job as the ACE insurance rep, and I can't ask for more," he said. "And she makes pretty good fried chicken."

Halmos also had kind words for Byrd Marine.

"I can't recommend a stronger team than Byrd," he said.

After three weeks of freedom, Legacy still sat in Key West Harbor on March 14, tied to the Helen B.

Adorning a staff at mid-ship was the Jolly Roger, arousing concern of the pirates for which she stood in forgone days.

Halmos said he bought the skull-and-crossbones at a drug store for $9.99 likely the least expensive part of the recovery effort and a much-needed laugh for Halmos.

Read more about the Legacy on the S/Y Legacy Topic Page at http://thetriton.com/topics/Legacy

By day, Capt. Tom Serio is a director of disaster management for a major retailer in South Florida. By weekend, he is a licensed skipper, lover of boats, and a freelance writer and photographer. Comments on this story are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com .