You and everything else on the Celeste are slammed forward, and for a few moments all is confusion and noise.

"Let the jib go!" Terry yells, and you cast off the jib sheets as he turns to the mainsail boom. In a moment both sails are flapping madly in the wind.

You glance down the companionway into the cabin. It is already half-full with water.

"She's had it," Terry says. You go aft and yank a cord, setting free the Celeste's survival raft. When you turn around, Terry's disappeared below.

The stern goes thud and the Celeste shudders. Turning again, you see the "monster" slip away astern - a dark metal shipping container, riding low in the water.