Missing Keel

Munjoy Hill News reports on this unusual story. Rich people's lives are so complicated.

The keel on the sailboat belonging to the wealthy Phineas Sprague, of Cape Elizabeth, went missing sometime this summer. Despite PYS repeated searches for the keel of the Spragues’ 25 ft. sailboat, Bon Adventure, it hasn’t been found, according to a PYS employee knowledgeable of the situation. The keel is a “retractable” keel which means it can be lowered and pulled up by a winch located inside the boat - should shallow water or other conditions warrant. Incorrect useage of this winch could result in a separation of the keel from the bottom of the boat. It also is called a centerboard.

So, a diving company for which Ron Birch works, was hired to take on a more comprehensive and bottom search of the harbor to find the keel. As of today, Birch had spent three days working four hours a day walking the bottom of the waterfront looking for the keel. Birch, from western Maine, says he has “walked” the bottom of the Harbor as far out as 600 Ft. from the shoreline and as deep as 30 ft. down. He says he’ll continue to look until he’s told not to do so any more.