I took my boat out for the first time at Lido di Ostia.
I wanted to see how the mast and sail would work.
It was an extremely windy day. Perfect for sailing, I thought.
My father and Giovanni came to help with the launch. We were smiling as I prepared to get underway.
I pushed the boat away from shore,
but the wind caught the boat and took me out of the protected cove where I had planned on testing the sail.
Out past the jetty, the waves were big and I was unable to row against the wind.
I struggled to put down the rudder so that I could control the direction of the boat, but it was ripped out of my hands.
The wind pushed the mast down into an extreme pitch,
and I fell out into the water.
The boat had capsized.
The water was cold, and I clung to the side of the boat, trying to see if there was some way I could set her right again.
I tried to unhook the mast,
but my life preserver became tangled in the mast stays.
As the sail filled with water, the boat began to turn completely upside down.
I unhooked my life preserver and swam clear of the boat.
The wind seemed to push the boat out to sea, and I was heartbroken watching her drift away.
It was difficult to swim in my clothes. The waves were breaking over my head.
I could see my dad standing on the jetty. I tried to hold up a thumbs up sign to tell him that I was alright.
Eventually I reached the shore,
and climbed up onto the rocks.
We could still see the boat out in the surf and we watched it float for a while.
The Italian Coast Guard was watching from the water.
The officers on shore made us come away from the jetty.
When my dad saw the boat capsize, he had asked someone on shore call the Coast Guard. Here they were; too late to help, but now they needed to fill out their reports.
Giovanni gave them a detailed description of the shipwreck.
The next day I came down to the beach with Matt Hural, Mathew Montieth, and Jeff Williams.
We found the boat washed up about a mile from where I capsized.
The waves were huge, breaking over the jetties, and the wind was so strong that it was difficult to breathe.
We pried the boat out of the sand,
and rolled it up the beach. It was heavy – wet and filled with sand.
I couldn’t believe that it had lasted through the night, hitting up against the rocks.
It was basically in one piece but large sections were smashed in, as though it had been chewed.
What will I do with such a wreck?
↑ Return to Top of Page ↑