Her brother completed an around-the-world solo a year or so ago, and her entire family has been doing this sort of thing her entire life. She spent 2+ years preparing for this trip.

She managed to repair the engine, got the water out of it, and had it running again. In those sea conditions the satellite phone can't have been very useful so it's likely she gets full credit for the repair, made in a 40' boat in 30'+ seas... She's also done other repairs (nav system etc) so I'm betting her 2+ years preparation were not wasted. It seems likely that it was loss of the mast that put an end to the journey and not some repairable situation.

The trip was going to end in August or September so it's likely waiting a day or two for rescue is not a problem in supplies.

PS. I was wrong about the satellite phone earlier: it's not a handheld but rather had the antenna on the mast.