This was the eastern side of the "Perfect Storm". We found that out later.

So you can put it in perspective: the GOLDEN ENDEAVOR is a San Clamente Class Tanker,  940 feet in length and 105 feet wide. The raised fordeck is 12 feet above the main deck and the formast is 40 feet above that. Minutes after this picture was taken we took a sea over the bow that bent the formast back 32 degrees off of vertical. The formast was 4 feet in diameter.

We were hove to at slow ahead for steerage. This went on for days. The Old Man was getting a lot of grief from the charterer about slowing down. He was telling us that his other ships on this run were not having any weather delays and why were we being such milktoasts. We were in radio contact with all three of the other ships and they were doing the same things that we were doing. We were calling each other every three hours or so to check on weather and condition of their  vessels. While none of the other ships were in immediate danger either, we were all hove to. I guess a moral can be inferred.

No one got hurt and that is the only thing that is important. The rest is only money and very little of it is mine.