Here’s the latest from John Curtis and Alison Fraser at minimus team central…

Good Morning All,

It has been a tense few days trying to figure out the battery problems on board Boys & Girls Club of Canada. After the first fix of bypassing the controller the batteries did take on a charge but were not able to be fully charged and seemed to discharge faster than they should.

After battling for nearly two days with this problem Nathan decided it was not safe to continue on the designated course. The wind had increased substantially and with the auto helm not entirely reliable, he took the decision to head to a sheltered spot where the sea would be calmer so he could do more trouble shooting. This has involved sailing back toward the islands he had just come from. He expects to reach Rock Sound on the Island of Eleuthera later today. He is about 30 miles away now. (9 am Saturday)

There are several possible explanations. Don Kerstens has contacted a friend, Patrick Sherwin from Cape Eleuthera Institute. Don met Patrick on his travels down in the area. Patrick happens to be a solar equipment installation specialist who works as a teacher at the Cape Eleuthera Institute. What luck!

I spoke with Nathan yesterday just after he had decided to head for shelter. He was feeling terrible about disappointing all his supporters. He really felt he was not going to be able to complete to journey. I told him not to worry about us, that his safety was much more important and that we would just have to deal with things one at a time. I told him that this is just another test and that working through this has become his goal for now. He seems to have refocused well and made good progress towards Eluthera yesterday and last night. Well done Nathan! I know it was not an easy night.

Alison spoke to Nathan this morning and reported the following:

I just got off the phone with Nathan. He sounded great, looking forward to getting into port! He is 30 miles off the coast of Eleuthera and looking forward to arriving at Rock Sound.

The wind was 30-35kts all night but has now dropped to 20kts. He had in 3 reefs and had the storm jib up.

It is uncertain at this time if he will be able to continue this attempt at the 1000 mile qualifier without outside assistance (eg. new battery or other parts). We will know more later today after Nathan has had a chance to rest and eat.

Stay tuned….More as we know it.