Saturday survival row?

It didn't start out that way, survival row I mean. I departed the dock at around 6:15 this AM with thoughts of a Misery Island loop. The idea of Paulie's 10 miler was tempting but 7:30 was a late start and I really wasn't up for the challenge. Not sure when the wind began to freshen from the NW. I was tucked pretty good inside the lee shore of Beverly Farms running my way northeast to Misery. I first noticed a change when I broke into the channel that runs into Manchester Harbor. Chop was churning but doable. Wind on the port front quarter. Things changed very quickly on my downwind leg from House Island. Whitecaps formed on the rising wind gusts, occasionally being sheared off. With my bow burying in the troughs between the waves, I was quickly swamped in the small cockpit and water continued to wash over the boat. I was wallowing in the waves and, unable to feel forward motion, felt quite vunerable. My downwind compass heading would have pushed me past the neck so I felt the only thing I could do was turn back to the northwest and slog my way back to the lee side of Beverly. Believe me it was some hard rowing but finally the wind eased as I approached the shore. Scooted down to the lighthouse of Beverly harbor and enjoyed a roller coaster downwind ride back to the dock. 12 miles total. My learnings is that this wonderful ocean of ours can turn nasty without too much warning and one should always be prepared with an alternative. There was a moment when my scull felt too small for the conditions, especially when I got swamped and had no forward motion.