Glove on the Piling: The Survival of Amanda Hunter

Glove on the Piling: The Survival of Amanda Hunter The glove was bone dry on a soaking dock at Caulfield waterfront the morning of January 14, 2019 - a single blue right-hand gardening glove balanced upright on a piling while everything else was wet. That dry glove, a photo taken by Teresa Jones and shown to dock manager Phil Ware, became the first clue that a twenty-six-year-old woman had arrived alone on a forty-four-foot sloop six hours earlier; how did that glove reveal who she was, and what did it mean for the search that followed? In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from Amanda Hunter at home in Caulfield to her boarding the Perla Negra and the days that followed, laying out the physical clues, the boat’s equipment and last known electronic position, and the puzzling choices in the early search - could one glove and a missing cockpit table finally explain what happened? Person: Amanda Hunter Date: January 14, 2019 Vessel: Perla Negra, 44-foot sloop Last AIS position: 11:47 a.m., January 8, 2019 - ~62 nautical miles ESE of Marathon on heading 212° Witness who remained alone: Amanda Hunter - The glove was identified as a blue cotton-backed right-hand gardening glove and was bone dry while dock boards and pilings were soaked from rain. - Teresa Jones photographed the glove and reported it before 8:51 a.m., prompting dock manager Phil Ware to call the Coast Guard at 8:51 a.m. - The Perla Negra left Caulfield marina at 6:15 a.m. on January 6, 2019, with light to moderate seas and east-northeast wind at 9 knots. - Amanda Hunter’s last diary entry was at 2:00 p.m. on January 8, 2019, noting seas building from the northwest and that Vincent was worried; she wrote no further entries. - The Perla Negra’s last AIS transmission was at 11:47 a.m. on January 8, 2019, positioning the vessel about 62 nautical miles east-southeast of Marathon on a 212° heading. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].