Columbia, North Carolina - Victor Mooney of Flushing, New York hit a submerged Cypress Stump and his rowboat was sinking and US Coast Guard dispatch a rescue team for him last week. The Red Cross provided emergency housing and food for the weary rower on arrival at Alligator River Marina.

Repairs are underway at Cypress Cove Marina. A gofundme.com/spiritofmalabofund is set up to underwrite the repair cost and some damage equipment.

The Spirit of Malabo is en-route to the United Nations where it will be donated on behalf of HE Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Head of State, of Equatorial Guinea as a symbol for the continued fight against AIDS. The Republic of Equatorial Guinea is the primary sponsor of the Goree Challenge.

Among other things, The Millennium Development Goals call to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. Mr. Mooney is less than four-hundred miles from the finish line - New York's Brooklyn Bridge.

Mr. Mooney left the coast of Africa in February 2014 in memory of all those that died of AIDS, which includes his brother and to encourage HIV testing. He tried this challenge three times in a ten year period and failed. On this last challenge, he lost 80 pounds, shark put hole in the boat and was pirated off the coast of Haiti.

Photo: Spirit of Malabo under repair at Cypress Cove Marina.

On the net: www.goreechallenge.com/ www.facebook.com/goreechallenge