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Owner Of New Rochelle 'Ghost Boat' Behind Bars On Child Porn Charge

Most sailors know that it's bad luck to change the name of a boat unless a complete renaming ceremony is held.

Jeffrey Sundwall, 47

Jeffrey Sundwall, 47

Photo Credit: Monroe County Sheriff's Office
The "ghost boat" that washed ashore in Florida with, "New Rochelle NY" written under the boat's name.

The "ghost boat" that washed ashore in Florida with, "New Rochelle NY" written under the boat's name.

Photo Credit: Fox 35 screen shot
A so-called "ghost boat" from New Rochelle washed up without warning on a Florida beach.

A so-called "ghost boat" from New Rochelle washed up without warning on a Florida beach.

Photo Credit: Fox 35 screen shot

Perhaps that's why the 45.4-foot "ghost ship" found in Melbourne Beach, Fla., still sported the name "Cuki," and a New Rochelle base, when it was found onshore of the battered beach just after Hurricane Irma slammed through the area.

The current owner of the boat, 47-year-old Jeffrey Sundwall,  is sitting in a Monore County Florida jail, accused of child porn charges and, according to Monroe County Sheriff's Office records, for strangling and raping a woman on another boat name "Today," anchored off an island in Key West.

According to Coast Guard documentation the boat originally belonged to the company Decaphun Inc. It was later sold to Janusz Machnica, who owned the New York Sailing School along with his wife in New Rochelle. 

The school went out of business and Machnica reportedly moved to Florida to offer sailing lessons. Coast Guard records show the last time the boat was registered was to Sundwall in 2004.

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