in the present calamitous circumstance unfolding in the bahia de acapulco , i stared down my greatest phobia : the irrational dread of being rammed by a mammoth sea vessel , forced helplessly into unwanted contact with its cold hull [ complete with resident jellyfish , starfish , seaweed and sea spiders ] , and vacuumed against my will beneath the metallic monstrosity where spinning propellers -- their fins the size of country barn doors -- rotated systemically , yearning to pulverize me into a mangled mash of unidentifiable flesh and bone .