NiteNavigator called when they finally got cell reception, about half-way between East Cape and Flamingo, going about 5.5 knots. He had quite the story. Last night, he and Etchemin were trying to run 180° down the coast, but they were tacking in & out so much that they decided to drop anchor 2 to 3 miles out. They put up the tent & slept. They woke shortly before 4am to banging & clanking. Winds! Up & at ‘em!! Sailed past Shark River Island & NWCape, going about 6 mph. Then suddenly, between NWCape & MiddleCape, the port side aka broke. Talk about excitement!! Stan quickly took over the helm & Bob tied everything off. Now they only have the one ama on the starboard side; none on the port side. They are currently going between 5 & 5.5 knots and hope to make Flamingo by noon. They’ll make repairs in Flamingo by tying the aka/ama off close to the boat; making a permanent repair requires a weld. They’d like to be out of Flamingo by 2pm. If the winds get too strong for just one ama, they will pull behind a key & drop anchor. Their goal is to make the Finish by midnight. But if the wind changes, or further equipment problems occur, it could be noon Thursday.
Mrs. Etch