In my original post that started this thread, I said, "Please share your nightmares with current and tips for coping with the situation."

So far there have been only a few actual experiences shared.

Here is a question that has been bugging me for a long time. Many years ago during the Worrell 1000 one or more boats got swept into an inlet by the tidal current and ended up self-destructing against bridges.

As I recall, this happened either during a dark and cloudy night or during fog or something that prevented the sailors from realizing that they were being swept into an inlet until they hit the bridge. They could not see the land around them, so they had no way of realizing what was happening to them relative to land. And, as has been exhaustively explained, your boat does not sail any differently or feel any differently when sailed in current than when sailed without current -- so how would you know that you are being swept toward disaster if you can't see any land to give you a relative perspective?

I'm just curious whether a GPS would tell you this information or whether you don't know until you hit the rocks or the bridge or something to give you a positive perspective on the situation (like impact, or going over Niagara Falls).