As the night breeze fluttered our clothes, and tossed around our hair, the only sounds on deck were our laughter, the low hum of the engines, and the subtle splashing of the waves against the boat. Then, all of the sudden and without warning, there was a very loud THUD as the ship instantly jerked to a complete STOP. Those of us on the upper deck were nearly thrown forward from our plastic lawn/deck chairs by the sudden impact. For what seemed like forever, everyone just stopped and looked at one another in complete silence, each waiting for the next to offer an explanation as to what in the hell had just happened. I think I was the first to hop up and run to the side, with most of the others doing the same in very short order. Within an instant, about the time that we realized the ship was raised in the front, leaning to the left, and not rocking as much as usual, someone shouted "We’ve run aground! We’ve hit a rock!" A millisecond later, Laura joined me overlooking the rail and shouted "The ship’s sinking! The ship’s sinking!"

At this point, a few of our group began to panic. As I was trying to reassure Laura (as well as the others within earshot), that everything was going to be fine, a few of the crew came running past us with very intense looks on their faces. The next few moments seemed to last a lifetime while mental flashbacks from the movie Titanic blurred with reality as a few of the passengers (who were apparently in their cabins when we hit) came up the ladder to the top deck adorned with their bright orange lifejackets.

"Should we get ours?" Laura asked. "No, these folks are just overreacting." I said with as much false confidence as I could muster. Then the engines began to whir, faster and faster and louder and louder. Then they became silent. Then faster and faster and louder and louder again. Then silent once more. The Captain was obviously trying to dislodge the ship and having no luck. More people (including the assistant Cruise Director), appeared on top deck with their lifejackets on. Laura looked at me. Without saying a word, I simply nodded and she was off down the ladder to retrieve our vests as well. Eventually, without being told, all 26 of the passengers appeared on deck, all but one or two wearing their life vests. We were all talking nervously amongst ourselves and trying, without much success, to make light of things. The Cruse Director instructed us to head towards the stern as to shift our weight to the rear of the boat. He told us that we had indeed hit a rock, but that there was no need to panic. He would tell us more as soon as the crew had fully assessed the situation, including any possible damage to the boat. Again, the engines reved to full speed, stopped, and reved again. Still, the ship was tilting up and to the side with little chance of moving.

While some of the crew busied themselves checking for leaks below deck, one of them grabbed flippers, a mask, and flashlight and jumped in the water to examine the ship’s underside for holes.

This time, the cruise director herded us into the dinning area and instructed us to sit in the benches against the walls. He told us that as far as they could tell, there were no leaks in the hull. He also informed us that a larger ship was on the way to drag us off of the rock. He instructed us to hold tight, as there would most likely be a few jolts as we were pulled free. At this point, a few of us tried again to make light of things with a few jokes. Amanda, one of the other passengers, even walked around passing out fruit from a treasure chest.

As we saw the lights of the other boat through the windows, the crew readied the ropes. They linked the boats together. We were all told to remain seated an hold on, then creeaak, eeeeerk, rock back, then forth, creeeaak, and then movement!! Yea! We were off the rock! At this point we all hoped that the crew was thorough with their examination, and there were in fact, no leaks in the hull. It seemed we were still 20 minutes from port. And although swimming is a favorite pastime here in the Greek Islands, it was pitch black, the water was very cold, and I had my bathing suit packed at the bottom of my pack. We crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.