Terrified cruise passenger feared she would die in ‘horror’ storm – so she turned on Strictly

Carol Lake feared for worst when Spirit of Discovery ship was hit by storm in Bay of Biscay

A terrified passenger on board a cruise ship that was battered by a storm has described fearing for her life as 30ft waves crashed against the boat – and revealed she turned to Strictly to get her through it.

The “nightmare” faced by Carol Lake on The Spirit of Discovery was a long way from the electric jive performed by Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin on Saturday’s show, but for the 63-year-old it was the perfect distraction.

After hurting her head when the boat’s safety system caused a sudden jolt during the storm, she, along with the 1,000 other passengers, was asked to go to her cabin as the ship held its position in the rocky waters of the Bay of Biscay on Saturday.

And with the boat “swaying like a pendulum” in the towering waves, the radio presenter turned to the Saturday night television staple watched by millions to distract her from the “horror movie” outside.

Strictly helped distract Carol from the “horror movie” scenes of the storm (BBC/Guy Levy)

“I’d packed my bag early but realised no one in the Bay of Biscay was coming to rescue us if we went over and thought for the first time I wasn’t going to make it,” Ms Lake told The Independent.

“I have had a good life and thought ‘this is it then’ as I could hear others in alarm around me - and so I turned the television on and watched Strictly.

“It was like a horror movie outside with the waves going up so high. I just tried to keep a tad of normality in a situation I had absolutely no control over, plus I could turn the sound up to drown the ferociously howling winds.”

Were you, or anyone you know, on board the Spirit of Discovery? Email alexander.ross@independent.co.uk

Saga’s cruise ship ran into trouble in gale force winds and was hit by waves as high as 30ft (Carol Lake)

The Spirit of Discovery was on a 14-night Canary Island Quintet cruise, which departed on Oct 24 (PA)

The varied dance routines of Strictly’s nine remaining couples offered some comfort to the radio presenter, who had earlier suffered injuries to her wrist and head when the vessel’s safety system forced it to veer suddenly to the left before bringing it to a halt in the worsening storm.

The “almighty crash” happened only moments after Ms Lake had sat down in the main dining hall at the rear of the boat.

“I was sat down when my glass of Hush Heath moved across the table,” she said. “I moved my hand to stop it when there was an almighty crash and everything moved including my table which fell against another table and trapped my wrist.

Carol is back home and planning to return to her job as a presenter at Stafford FM on Sunday (Carol Lake)

“I lost control and fell back and hit my head on the wall behind me. I sat up from the floor feeling dazed - I was in shock as I couldn’t really hear anything but people said there was screaming around me.”

Ms Lake was checked on by a health worker before being taken in a wheelchair back to her cabin, where she remained until the extreme weather had passed.

“I was so frightened,” she said. “I thought this is it and I wished I’d rewritten my will because I wasn’t going home.”

Back on dry land at Portsmouth on Monday, Ms Lake and other passengers received a letter from Saga Cruises CEO Nigel Blanks saying they would get details about compensation in the coming days.

The Spirit of Discovery safely back in port at Portsmouth International Port (Ben Micthell/PA Wire)

The 14-day over-50s cruise had been around the Canary Islands and was intended to moor at La Coruna port in northwestern Spain, before bad weather closed the port and the boat headed across Biscay on the way to the UK.

Ms Lake is among many passengers who have spoken of their nightmare experience on board.

Jan Bendall, 75, told the BBC that she and her husband were “holding on for dear life” during the storm and added: “It was quite frightening, I’m not somebody who frightens easily, it was quite dramatic.”

Out of the 100 guests hurt, the “vast majority” were left with minor injuries, although five needed treatment for more serious injuries in the ship’s medical facilities, according to Saga Cruises.

A company statement said: “Spirit of Discovery was sadly caught in the challenging weather conditions this weekend, as she started her return to the UK.

“The ship remained safe at all times, but due to the impact of the storm some guests sustained injuries. All were treated immediately by onboard medical staff.

“While the weather is clearly beyond our control, we want to offer our sincere apologies to all those affected who are now safely on their way home in calmer seas.”

This article was amended on 8 November 2023. It originally said that Johnny Pacheco and Celia Cruz had performed a dance, but this was inaccurate. They are not on the show and the dance referred to was performed by Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin.