Hours became longer and longer as Yod Hey maintained radio silence through the night.   The next day, we continued calling Yod Hey with no response.   It was impossible to enjoy the beautiful sailing conditions, not knowing the werabouts of the smallest boat in the fleet.   Captain Raymond’s only comfort rested in Smoky’s many years of sailing experience.  Still, any comfort was short lived as we imagined what could possibly be wrong every minute that passed.

Finally we made the dreaded call to the coast guard.   We sailed slowly, listening helplessly to the coastguard’s radio calls to any vessel who may have had a visual on Yod Hey, but nothing…

We arrived at Marco Island and waited… We had been praying since we had lost contact with Yod Hey, by now we were concerned to hear what could have happened.

A faint call came over the radio.   It was Boat US (sort of like AAA for boats).  Yod Hey was being towed.

I can’t describe how relieved we all were.   Apparently their batteries were low and they decided to turn off the radio in order to preserve battery power.   Eventually, without wind and unable to start the motor, they called Boat US for a tow.

We sat down and reflected on the experience.   Captain Raymond strongly suggested several ideas to avoid this scenario from happening in the future. 

We rested for a couple of days, then it was off to Marathon.   There, we would be able to make the necessary repairs on Yod Hey.   We tossed 200ft of heavy tow line off the stern of Aleph Tav, and much to Smoky’s disappointment, we towed Yod Hey all the way to Marathon.

It wasn’t before long that we realized we all needed to make some repairs and adjustments before leaving the Florida Keys.    La Victoria developed a serious cooling problem due to a water pump that was rebuilt incorrectly.  Aleph Tav was fitted with a new cylinoid to help start the motor.

A man riding a dingy with bullet holes all over it, made several passes around Aleph Tav.   He was wearing army camo, and a thick scarf around his neck…

“I’ve had you on satellite surveillance this whole time, and I now have my men keeping an eye on you. You will be safe, which is more then I can say about Justin and Chelsea… I have to go for now, but I will be watching…”

This was Rambo Ray…

To be continued