As you can see, there were some breaking waves. What you can't see is the wind, which I estimate to have been blowing a high Beaufort Force 3 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_scale) Probably between 11 and 13 miles per hour. I waved goodbye to the gang and they drove back to camp. I shoved off and within 30 seconds I snapped the boom. I borrowed a knife from a bemused powerboater, cut the sail free from the boom, and tried to sail loose footed. It didn't work, so I called in my first 'Mayday' and the gang came back to pick me up.