What's the most scared you've ever been?
 

The creepy crawlies thread got me thinking about this. I'll bet there is another thread here about it.
For me -
I went snorkeling on a reef off of Cozumel. Some dumb kids were running the boats. There were 5-6 boats with 6 of us on each one, taking us to a reef about a mile from the beach. The deal was they were supposed to drop us on the reef and go to this place where there was just a grass bottom to anchor and wait for us. The kid driving my boat took us straight to the anchor point and let us off the boat. Apparently he kicked back for a nap. This was a channel through the reef where the water went in as the tide rose and flowed out as it ebbed. It was ebbing, so we were washed out into the Gulf. I was in the water looking at the bottom wondering why this "reef" looked like an uncut lawn in a windstorm, when I popped my head up and looked around - nothing. NOTHING! I could not see a thing but sky and water. It eventually got resolved (one of the boat drivers figured out what happened and came looking for us) but I was one terrified dude for a good half an hour.

But maybe it was -
I had about 10 solo hours and went up to get some seat time. The weather called for increasing clouds moving in, but I was only going to fly around for an hour. I headed east and encountered a cloud bank, so I did a 180 and headed home. The clouds got thicker, and I realized the cloud bank wasn't moving horizontally, it was descending. I knew the area well enough to know there was a grass strip somewhere between where I was and home, if I could only find it before the clouds hit the deck. I found it in spite of the fact that a Piper PA28 isn't the best for looking straight down. I landed safely, but I was down to about 100 feet before I found it.

When my three year old daughter wandered away on Coco Beach in FL. Most terrifying 5 minutes of my life.

Oddly one of my stories has to do with diving as well.

About 35 years ago, a friend was teaching me scuba diving. We were in a cove in front of his parents cottage. I had just switched over to reserve and was ascending as I heard a motor boat approaching the cove. We didn't have a "Diver Down" flag, but I was pretty sure the boat wouldn't come into the cove, as the cove was pretty small. When I was about a foot or so below the surface, something ripped through the water over my head. The boat had been pulling a skier who dropped the rope and came into the cove. to shore I had done the same thing a few weeks before,
As I came to shore I realized I probably would not have survived a ski or skeg to the head.

A few years later, I was commuting through a forested area in the middle of Nova Scotia. It was about 5:30 AM and there was the faintest glow of dawn to the sky. As I flogged my poor little diesel Rabbit through a hollow near a still water, something jumped up on to the road in front of me.
Both feet in. I was braking as hard as I could and noting that the thing looming in front of my little car was the north end of a south bound moose. I knew if I took the legs out from under him I would wear the darned thing.
He had come onto the road from the right, but which way would he go? I don't know what made him change his path, but just as I was bracing for impact the moose reversed course and dropped back over the shoulder.
About a quarter mile further down the road the shakes set in. :D

Best
Les

Identical situation for me. My daughter was four when she wondered away at Knott's Berry Farm on a crowder day. 5 minutes of pure panic.

Daughter was 3 when she wandered out of our gated yard to go to the park. Her brother started down the road with her but then changed his mind and came back to tell on her.

She was fine and I got to meet a couple of nice officers that were called for a "toddler in distress". She was only a block from our house but around the corner. When the cop asked me if I was her father I about bit his head off. He then asked me her birthdate and middle name and I drew an absolute ****** blank. My shaking hands finally just gave him my wallet. I think I aged 30 years in a half hour.

Getting the speed wobbles bad at 150MPH on an R1.

I dont go that fast anymore.

I have had a knife to my throat, a gun pointed at me, I've been surrounded by several guys wanting to kick my arse, I was rear ended on a bridge, at 2AM during a rain storm that sent me into a spin. I was hospitalized for 8 days with a lung infection that wouldn't go away - all these were handled with minimal emotion and I came out of it fine and none the worse for wear but the thing that I was lost over, to this day, nothing as bad as when my Son was 3, we were in a sporting goods store. I thought the wife was with him and she thought he was with me. First 2 minutes we could not find him, didn't know where he went. After a few minutes she immediately went to the front of the store while I secured the back - he was under a rounder. It was by far the worst feeling I have ever had.

Parachuting.
Second jump didn't go well.

Not for me.

Top them all. Wife and I were in Target. I immediately noticed our 2 year old daughter was gone. Heart pounding I yelled for my wife and started calling my daughters name. My wife starts laughing.

I was holding our daughter.

I was hiking in New Mexico at a famous ranch and at the end of our day we reached our campsite as bad weather was just moving into our area. A few of us set off to go get water from a spring a mile away that reached the ground flowing through a pipe in the middle of a field in a valley. The whole time thunder is rumbling in the area but nothing is on top of us. While we were getting water we saw a flash and thunder boomed immediately as lightning struck maybe 100 feet away and everyone instinctively dropped to the ground. About that time we decided it would be a good idea to get back to the campsite.

Less scary, but while we were sitting around the empty fire ring before we put up our tents the nearby thunder continued to boom away. I kept thinking I heard something crashing through the treetops like someone was throwing rocks and finally I asked if anyone else heard it. We all got quiet and listened, then a hailstone as big as a golf ball landed next to my ankle. Everyone had sort of an 'oh crap!' look as the hailstrom started and we all ran for a tarp tied between two trees a couple of feet off the ground. Let's just say it didn't do a lot to slow down the hailstones from hitting us.

I bet you were running on fumes from lack of sleep! Too funny :D (but still the scare sucks)

I thought my wife was involved when a gunman started shooting people at the entrance to the hospital she works at. I knew she was leaving work right about the same time he started shooting and as soon as I found out about it I started calling her, no answer.
I finally located her, at the gym.
Apparently she actually walked passed him as he was entering and was a 100ft or so away when he started shooting. She thought the "pops" where noise from construction and kept going.

I suppose this was payback for that morning on 9/11 when she thought I was dead.

A few years ago my wife and I took whitewater kayak lessons. The morning session was held at the lake so we could get comfortable in the boat and learn how the strokes before going to the river after lunch. We got in the boats, strapped on the spray skirt and the instructor had us leave our paddles on shore and to just use our hands to paddle out and lean side to side to get a feel for the boat.

After gaining some confidence, I started leaning farther and farther until SPLASH. Instinctively, I swam to the surface, but got pulled back under just when my head broke above the surface. The instructor had not taught us how to wet exit. He did explain that the strap on the front of the skirt had to be on the outside (I had mine tucked inside the boat at first). The third attempt to swim out I heard him yelling "pull the strap." I remembered the strap and pulled it and floated to the surface.

Probably lasted less than a minute, but felt forever. Was damaged goods the rest of the day and half of the next lesson a few weeks later.

Another diving incident.. 1987, was doing a penetration dive on the USS San Diego off the coast of Long Island. I wanted to get into a spot in the wreck that was the armory, to grab a few rifles . I couldn't fit in the spot with my usual double and pony setup. So on my second dive I went down with a single. I figured I'd do a quick grab and go, get out and surface. Went down and while trying to squeeze in there, I guess I overexerted a bit and blew through my air a little too fast. Next thing I know Im out! I tried to get my buddies attention , he wasn't facing me and was a deck below. I started waving my light and slamming on my tank to get his attention. By then I was struggling to get air through my regulator. I gave him the out of air sign , and tore his octopus off his bcd. took a few breaths and headed out the wreck . I had about a 25 ft obstructed swim to get out the hole in the side. By time I got to the hole I had been holding my breath and was starting to panic and getting dizzy I knew I was gonna black out. That's when I said this is it, I'm history I'm gonna die. I had 105 feet to the surface. He was right behind me. I turned and grabbed for his octopus again and took a breath without clearing it. I took in some water and air completely panicked and bolted for the surface. I actually knocked someone off the downline on the way up. I think I blacked out for a second or two right before I hit the surface.
My buddy had pullled one of my fins off trying to slow me down. Luckily I didn't burst a lung on the way up. Took me a while to get back diving again after that.

Second was losing a kid in Disney for around 10 minutes.

Another brief "I'm a gonner!" moment was doing 9/11 recovery, when we were down in one of the sub-levels and something shifted and debris started falling on us. Luckily it was quick and only light debris., but it was enough to see your life flash.


.

One late fall day years ago, I met a friend at the river who was a huge whitewater kayaking fan. I borrowed his spare kayak, and he taught me some basics, like rolling and such in smooth water. I passed through his challenges with ease, and it was a perfect end to a long a fun summer.

Fast forward to next spring. Riding my bike by the river one chilly spring morning, the same friend was unloading his kayak for some whitewater fun. Having passed his course with flying colors last year, he invited me to go with him. I threw my bike into his car, jumped in his spare kayak, and we headed out into smooth water.

"Let's practice some rolls" he said, so I flipped the boat over and sat upside down the river. This is the point in the story where I said:
"self... I hope you remember how to do the eskimo roll thing..."
self: "yeah sure... I think I remember it."
attempted roll.... fail... boat deposits me back upside down under water. could not breath.
self: "okay... I botched it.... try again"
attempted roll.... fail... boat deposits me back upside down under water. could not breath.
self:"okay... I need to breath.... let's get this right this time"
attempted desperate roll, boat uprighted with so much force I flipped over the other side and was back under water again....could not breath.
self: "oh ****... I need to get out of this boat"
(realization that my friend never got around to teaching me the wet exit technique last year...)
self..."okay this cant be that hard, just push back in boat"
(bonus realization that his boat was one size too small for me and my legs were stuck too tight in the hull to smoothly get out)
At this point I could put my hands above me into the air and feel the air...I could not breath.
My friend was hitting the side of my boat with his, an attempt to give me something to grab onto to right myself, but at this point I was disorientated and getting 'concerned'
Then the thought hit me... "If you don't pull it together...soon... you WILL die... remain calm... get out"
I somehow got out, and rose to the surface gulping about a 1/2 gallon of water in the process.

We went ahead down the river... scariest damn kayak trip of my life. Not fun at all. Never did it again- stuck to cycling (got hit by car anyway....)

ha- we posted this almost simultaneously!:D

Coming too in the middle of the road, in a helmet and full leathers, paralyzed, as in, quadriplegic. After spinal surgery and several months rehab, got my legs back. Arms are ok, not great. Count myself a lucky s o b.

My wife and I joke that my nine lives are about up. I've had Hodgkins disease (cancer) three times now over a 25 year period, and have gone through numerous tests, and procedures that would have had many people in tears. From one of the chemotherapy drugs I got a long time ago, I developed congestive heart failure and retained water around my lungs and heart, and was on deaths doorstep (13% heart efficiency). I could barely walk into the hospital and that night after being administered a dieretic (water pill) I lost 17 pounds of fluid by peeing every 1/2 hour for about 7 hours. I developed heart failure 2 more times, but believe I have it under control now.

Two years ago, I was driving in my 944 down a county road near my house when someone blasted through a stop sign and hit me broadside. The center console of my car broke 4 ribs, lacerated my liver, broke my sternum and foot, and then shattered my pelvis in 10 places. From being unable to move for a couple weeks, I developed blood clots in both legs.

Most of this stuff, I just soldered on like a trooper, and am pretty normal now, but I think the thing that scared me the most was when My wife and I were on a deserted beach with our new baby. She was on a blanket with the baby, and I was out swimming and saw two shady looking guys walking towards her that she didn't see. I marched out of the water and thought there might be a confrontation, but they saw I was serious and that I was staring at them. Luckily, they left with no incident, but it could have been so much worse.

I'll never forget that feeling.

My wife had a blast and spend the two hour drive home talking about how we can do this to spend time together and to get our daughters to do. She pushed for the next lesson and I went along. That was about 3.5 years ago and the last run of last summer resulted in tearing my labrum and shoulder surgery. Strangely, I'm looking forward to when the doctor clears me to paddle.

Lesson: no diving, no kids. Check. Darn, too late!