What was your scariest moment?

[PJMcK]

7. Sailing across Currituck Sound , NC in a dangerous squall

The sound is very shallow outside the Intracoastal Waterway channel and we would run aground if pushed too far away from safety. In those conditions that could have been a life-threatening danger and the boat would be in jeopardy. The storm had 30-40 mph winds and following seas of 5'-6' that continuously tried to broach our boat (push it sideways which exposes the side of the boat to the next waves- very dangerous).

The squall lasted about 2 hours and it was harrowing! Because of the rain and spume, visibility was extremely limited and without the electronic navigator I would never have been able to navigate the channel. I was so frightened that I had no concept of time and how long we were in the storm; I was living moment by moment. When it was over and we were safe, I was shell-shocked for a couple of hours. Although we have a sailboat, we relied on our Diesel inboard to power through the storm and it performed flawlessly.

In my lifetime of sailing, this was the worst and most dangerous situation I ever experienced... so far! The fear of grounding was deeper than when I've sailed offshore in the ocean in bad weather. For most sailors, running severely aground is one of the greatest fears after a fire, collision, man overboard or sinking.