D.C. Captain, 74, Rescued in Atlantic After 3 Days in High Winds and Cold

On Tuesday, he found himself still north of Cape Ann, Mass., overdue and overtaken by the storm. The Coast Guard said the wind neared 70 mph. "I don't think I'd argue with them," Gillings said. "I wondered if my neck was strong enough to keep my head on."

He said the wind sounded like "the wailing of a banshee, played tunes in the rigging" that resembled a dirge and scoured the 30-foot waves smooth. "It was raining like nobody's business," he said, "and it was cold, cold, cold."

Gillings said one of his sails had been ripped apart and he had taken the mainsail down for fear that it, too, would be destroyed. He said he still had one sail raised and could make some headway. The water had doused his engine, which had killed his batteries.

At one point, he said, a huge wave swept him overboard. But he was saved by the harness he was wearing, which kept him tethered to the vessel. The wave "came right on top of the boat," he said. "I have never known such force in my life." He said he was stunned for a few moments and when he came to found himself clinging "like a fly" to a mast boom.

On Tuesday afternoon, he said, he realized with dismay that he was being pulled into the plunging surf on the Massachusetts coast near the Merrimack River. Someone on shore -- Gillings thought the person was in a lighthouse -- spotted him and called the Coast Guard.

A rescue boat battled through the surf but in the fading light couldn't find the sailboat. Gillings managed to steer back to open water and spent a final, harrowing night in the storm. "Once it gets dark," he said, "you can't see anything. That's when your imagination starts working." He tried to sleep but got pitched out of his berth and thrown across the cabin.

Logan, meanwhile, had also called the authorities to express her concern. And around dawn, Gillings heard the roar of an aircraft overhead. It was a small search jet, and when he looked up, he saw that it had the orange markings of the Coast Guard.

Staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report.