I remember going out on the Gulf of Mexico with my father and a friend of good one Saturday when I was 14 it so. While the friend was in the back cleaning things up after a full day of fishing my dad let me drive the boat. We were going full speed and I was supposed to keep it between the big pylons that guide boats to the port.
Somehow I aimed the boat in a way that we were running full speed outside the channel. I was focused on the next two pylons and Dad and I shared a few minutes of carefree fun with the wind blowing in our hair and the sun setting behind us.
Then the guy looked up and freaked out! He started swearing and saying we were out if the channel and probably in about 5 feet of water and could wreck at any moment. He slammed the throttle down so we instantly dropped speed, looked around the boat, then slowly got us back in the channel.
That feeling of embarrassment comes over me every once in a while. The fear of being outside the channel froze me for a long time, and still makes me cautious. But I've learned to get past it.
