Boat Explodes Next to Wanderlust 3
When Mike Harker finally returned to Miami following both his personal and his Hunter Mariner 49 Wanderlust 3‘s circumnavigations, he had more excitement than during almost any time during the trip.
"I was sitting in Hooters Restaurant having a burger and watching the sights outside the window in the direction of my boat when all of the sudden there was an explosion," he writes. "The flames and a lot of smoke blocked my view of the my boat, so I jumped up as best I could, and got on my folding bike to rush back to my boat. By the time I got there, the Sheriff and six fire trucks were blocking my path, not letting anyone through. When I explained that it was possibly my boat in flames, a sheriff accompanied me to my boat. Fortunately, my boat was all right, but the boat two empty slips down from mine was being broken apart and doused with water! Only later did I learn the full extent of the tragedy: one man died and another was badly injured.
What a welcome back to the States!"