We were 124 miles off Bermuda in 70-knot winds and 30-foot seas. A pressure gradient created by Hurricane Gordon lingered indecisively off Cape Hatteras, and a characteristically decisive Bermuda high hovered over Bermuda. For 48 hours, we struggled to keep our boat in one place in order to avoid the hurricane to leeward.

A near drowning incident in a swimming pool when I was a child left me fearful of the water. It wasn’t until I was about 34 years old that I was forced to confront the fear and deal with it.

Whenever I see kids wearing the “N0 Fear” caps and T-shirts that became popular a year or two back, I remind myself to get one of those caps for myself, to wear whenever I’m aboard my Pearson 303, Treasure.