Sailboat Story of Terror

Being stuck on the ocean at night not knowing how to operate a boat can be a scary situation. Thankfully I pay attention to my surroundings, and I'm a resourceful individual. While living in Florida on a canal home, our neighbors beside us had a beautiful 24-foot sailboat. I had been out on many of boats but never on a sailboat. The two gentlemen approached me one afternoon and asked me if I would be interested in cleaning and detailing the boat to earn some extra money. Of course, it sounded great to me, so I said yes. After cleaning they offered to take my family and me out on the sailboat that afternoon.

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Sailing is extremely fun and appeals to many individuals. So my two children and I along with these two gentlemen went out on the boat to enjoy a sunset. While we were sailing which is extremely beautiful and peaceful, I was paying attention to how this boat was being run. It was set up as they explain to me so that one person could sail this boat by themselves. It was unique to watch the process in the back where basically everything was already set so you just had to hold on to a stick-like controller to tighten the sails and control the boat. They let me drive the boat for a few who really came in handy later in the story.

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While we were enjoying the sunset one of the notorious Florida thunderstorms popped up out of nowhere. Being on such a small boat, we could not go back the same way that we came and had to travel further up north into an area called Aripeka. We went back into some channels and found safety while the storm passed. Unfortunately, while we're waiting for the storm to pass the two gentlemen on the boat decided they were going to enjoy taking some Xanax. As we started to make our way back out of this boat channel, the two individuals ended up passing out. This was very scary for the Children and me. I went to turn the light on, on their boat so that I could see what was in front of me as it was pitch black. The light did not work. I had to rewire it to an alternate source so that I can have a spotlight to see with. I then sailed out into the channel and back to the buoy markers where I proceeded to go the direction I knew home was. Had it not been for me paying attention to my surroundings and keeping a calm, cool head on my shoulders the situation could have been much worse. I ended up selling the boat all the way home before the two individuals woke up from their drug infused nap. Never again will I go sailing with anybody that I don't know.

 

When I was in my 20's I took an old (50 years old) 43 foot wooden fishing boat up the inside passage from Bellingham, WA to Alaska. I was caught in a whirlpool that spun me around and sent everything to the floor. I saw it form in front of me but the boat only did 8 knots (with a tail wind) and I couldn't avoid it. I later spent a few years working the commercial boats out of Dutch Harbor. The scariest time for me was going on deck at night, in a massive storm, and pounding ice. The water looks like a black evil wall coming at you. I was nearly killed three different times. At 29, on another trip to Anchorage hospital, I decided my luck was running out. I moved back to Washington and found an easier job.