How to Live Through a Collision with a Water Spout at Sea and Come Out Laughing!.

Editor’s note: I hope you enjoy this latest guest post from Josh Aggars as much as we did! Be sure to check out his full bio at the end of the story.

I love the ocean. It is home to the most interesting and exotic animals and plant life on the planet. It produces swells and waves that make this life worth living for me and all other dedicated surfers. It can be both warm and cold, fun and calming, the giver of life and the bringer of majesty. It is in short the greatest save for one little thing, it can be deadly!

Everything starts with a call

Last summer I took a call from an Italian friend who was heading back to the motherland for the summer. “Aye Josh, how art choo?” he asked in his most quintessentially perfect comedic English Italian accent. “I was a wondering if you want to come visit me in Rome next month. Me and some friends are going to hire a boat and go sailing. Do you want to be in?”

Staring out the window at a blustery English channel, more force 9 gale than summer sun, it took me all of half a second to do the computation and come up with a resounding “Yes you little beauty of a Giorgio!”

Living the life on the Ionian sea

My time in Rome went something like this, dinner party, shots, street guitar playing, hanging out on some church steps in the centre of town, partying, lying in, dinner party, shots, street guitar playing, ad nauseum… It was great and wild but is for another article. Instead it is suffice to say we arrived to our boat in less than perfect physical shape more in need of a holiday than the word holiday was invented for.

Setting sail from Taranto on the Southern tip of Italy, we ventured out into the Ionian Sea all novice and eager in 5/6 measure. At the helm was Captain Mike (1/6 pro), a former RAF pilot and fount of sailing knowledge. Somewhere between the port and the stern (for I never did figure out which was which) were myself, Giorgio, Julia, Bepo and Lyn (5/6 novice).

The first few days and nights were uneventful save for lying in the sun, sleeping and basically becoming one with the gentle rocking of the sea. Diving, swimming, dinner, cards and a bit of wine were all part of the mix in this serene life of luxury. “I could most certainly get used to this” I thought as my head hit the pillow each night.

The devil in the deep blue sea

On the sixth morning we awoke to a slightly unsettled outlook on the horizon. Storm clouds could be seen in the far distance although in between them and our boat were miles of clear blue sky. “Nothing to fear” I thought as I rummaged around for my sun cream and book “for that is some way off.”

Around ten minutes later I wanted to chew that previous thought up, stamp on and set fire to it for we were in the middle of the greatest panic I have ever experienced. The boat was rocking violently from side to side and taking on water the likes of which I had never seen dumped on a boat. Mike was bellowing orders in an ever more trill panic as his hapless crew unknotted the wrong knots, tied the wrong lines and generally were about as much use as a soggy paper bag in a hail storm.

Lyn and Bepo were trying desperately to pass up life jackets from below deck but each attempt to get up the steps was met with a violent shudder and a fall backwards. I know this because I was staring straight at the hatch, white knuckles holding onto a guide rope for dear life whilst trying to recall how to pray. In short we were in serious trouble and we knew it.

All things must pass

Before you could say “I want to live Lord, just give me another day” the sea gradually reduced its violent ferocity. As we got our bearings and the adrenalin started to dissipate we were able to make out just what had hit us.

A huge plume of water connected the sea to the sky, a site I will never forget, and moved off away from us. This naturally occurring water spout, I found out later, is the sea based equivalent of a tornado and packs an almighty punch. It is a wonder to look at but deadly in its intensity and we all felt blessed to have survived its close proximity.

The strange thing is that when it descended we didn’t even know it. We went from blue sky to torrential rain in mere seconds. As a consequence we lived through the ordeal not in life jackets and rain coats but board shorts and bikinis. When I say it hit in no time I literally mean that. To look back on this is to laugh but at the time it was deadly serious.

Engine failure

To make matters worse our sail was shot to pieces so we had to head into land under engine. No sooner were we within touching distance of the port we were limping towards than the engines packed in.

This again was not good for we were drifting into the Lefkas Canal on the Greek Island of Lefkada. Mike got on the radio and started shouting “PAN PAN, PAN, PAN, PAN, PAN” in as calm a shouty voice as he could muster. This signal, one down from MAYDAY, seemed to garner some swift attention for a number of local boatyard crew immediately responded.

Whilst drifting we tried the engines once more and managed to get some puts and an unhealthy cough going enough for us to steer into a berth. As it turned out a plastic bag had somehow got caught in the water cooling system of the engine during the water spout causing it to overheat and give out, or so the English mechanic relayed to us later that day as we sat on the quay side all thousand yard stares and blinking.

Toasting survival in Lefkas Town

To come through a moment like that when unprepared is to appreciate the finite nature of life. Had we been drunk, asleep, swimming or any other number of regular pastimes at the moment the water spout hit then who knows what would have happened. As it was we were thankful enough to toast our success that night in Lefkas Town safe in the knowledge we had escaped an almighty close shave. Next time I’m reading up on sailing before I get on a boat!

About The Author: Josh Aggars writes about surf and travel with his twin passions taking him to amazing places around the world as he explored in his regular articles. He sells havaiana flip flops and animal flip flops to help fund his travels for the flip flops city surf blog. Connect with him on facebook for travel tips and advice at any time.

*All photos courtesy of Josh Aggars.

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

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