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Marine engineers were left scratching their heads after a fishing boat mysteriously sank.
The 27-feet Gypsy Lea which suddenly filled with water and disappeared beneath the waves at Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey.
The boat, owned by dad-of-two Terry Smith, 69, of Norwood Walk, Grove Park, Sittingbourne, was safely moored but still ended up on the bottom of The Swale.
Des Cross, a director of Queenborough Harbour Trust, said: “We aren’t sure exactly what happened. The boat was still attached to its mooring chain so it had not broken free. It could have filled with rain. There is also a theory it could have been caused by a loose exhaust.”
He said holes or weak connections could let water in and added: “Exhaust systems are frequently the cause of rapid sinking.”
But Mr Smith, who bought the £12,000 boat 18 months ago with a friend, said: "It's a mystery. I have had boats since I was 15. I know what I am doing. I left it securely tied up. I don't think it was anything to do with the exhaust. I first thought it might have been hit by a ship."
He admitted: "I thought it was a wind-up when I got the phone call."
The Gypsy Leas sank sometime on Thursday last week.
Lee Dixon, 50, who runs Sheerness-based Whitstable Marine Services, used the low tide on Saturday night to bring the boat back to the surface using a specially built £1.9m floating crane called Liftmoor.
He said: "There was no obvious hole or damage visible. And once we had lifted it up and pumped all the water out it still floated. "I can only think the easterly winds whipped up the water over its stern."
But Mr Smith said: "That still doesn't make any sense. The boat has scuppers which are designed to let the water run out. No one seems to know what caused it. There are no clues."
Mr Dixon and his team including skipper Benn Bath took 10 hours working throughout the night to retrieve Gypsy Lea using strops, winches and searchlights.
He said: "We were lit up like a Christmas tree. Luckily, we had surveyed the mooring lines for the harbour board in January so we knew the area well. We had been told the boat was still on its mooring so we lifted the chain and found the Gypsy Lea on the end of it."
Mr Smith said: "It will need a lot of work. I have lost two ship-to-shore radios, a depth gauge, fish finder and the diesel engine has been under water.
"But Lee did a fantastic job. I bought the boat for pleasure fishing and was looking forward to taking it out in the spring but there ain't no pleasure at the moment!"
