Ahoy there, funnel cloud

If there's anything that'll make you go faster, it's looking over your shoulder and seeing a waterspout closing on your boat.

That's what happened to Bernadette Hoban of Brooklyn on Thursday in New York's Oyster Bay. The waterspout -- essentially a tornado over water -- spun out of a thunderstorm. Hoban was motoring toward the docks in her 32-foot sailboat when she realized the funnel cloud was right on her stern. She sent her two guests belowdecks, then laid down on the throttle, outrunning the waterspout as it raced toward shore.

"Never in my life did I see anything like this," said Hoban, 50, "and I never want to see it again."

Full story, with really cool photo of the waterspout, here.