Map to Enlarge)I'm considering aborting the Annisquam trip because of the threat of afternoon thunderstorms.
Years ago, we got caught in a squall when we were returning from the Annisquam by circling around Cape Ann. Certainly one of the most terrifying times in my life as a never ending series of ten foot swells threatened to engulf our 21' Mako.
The storm came out of nowhere and immediately the sea changed. If I didn't see it then, I wouldn't believe it now. I never got a chance to put on a life preserver because I was afraid to take my hands off of the wheel even for a second, and nobody else on the boat dared move either.
It was a series of huge waves that the bow had to hit dead on to avoid being swamped. UP, UP, UP then DOWN!!! Over and over again. It felt like we were on the rollercoaster at Canobie Lake Park... but the stakes were much higher.
Joanne found out the next day that a Coast Guard Cutter who was watching our progress was taking odds on when we would capsize. Not "if" but "when".
Ever since then, I've approached the ocean with the respect and knowledge that it has the ability to change and overwhelm you almost instantaneously.
It was terrifying and I had to use all of my superior boatman skills to keep the bow heading into huge swells. Clearly a lesser man would have lost his vessel in this swirling maelstrom, but obviously I prevailed.
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