As the 70-foot Sunseeker drifted down on us in the dark, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I lurched forward on deck in my bathrobe, screaming and clapping, trying to get their attention before they hit us. My mate was prone on the bow of the bucking ketch, easing the snubber for the third time, trying to find a less chafed part of the line.
“I looked back and saw a giant bird with flailing white wings, rushing the bow, shouting inaudibly into the