We rented a small boat off the coast of Italy. The rental guy gave us a short demo and told us we were good to go for 4 hours. About 90 minutes in, the engine sputtered and died—we were out of fuel. We were 2 miles from shore with no paddles, no radio, and spotty cell signal. Turns out the guy reused leftover fuel from earlier trips and didn’t refill. A passing fisherman spotted us and towed us in. The rental place gave us a “discount” instead of an apology.
7. The Not-So-Fake Drill: A Greek Ferry’s Close Call
On a ferry in Greece, the crew announced a “safety exercise.” Everyone was calm at first, but then life vests were being handed out, and crew started shouting directions. A crew member quietly told me, “Go to the upper deck, now.” I obeyed. Later I found out it wasn’t a drill—the ship had lost steering briefly, and they didn’t want to cause panic. We made it to port without issue. But for 15 minutes, only the crew knew how close we were to disaster.
