Mad Mariner is shaking things up in the New Year: We want you to tell us a story.

We are sponsoring the first Mad Mariner Essay Contest, an opportunity to tell some tales and win some gear as we wait for the weather to let us get back on the boat. All you have to do is tell us your scariest moment out on the water in three or four paragraphs. You don't have to be Hemingway. Just tell the story. Our editors will then select the best, and three winners will receive an Icom handheld VHF, a Norcross handheld depth sounder or an Edson PowerKnob. We will also publish the essays.

The idea is to hear some new voices and to have some fun. Essays don't have to be the stuff of legend. Most of us have been run down by storms, gotten lost, come into strange ports in the dead of night or run aground. There are dramatic moments in everyone's on-the-water resume. Here's a chance to share yours and perhaps get some useful equipment in the bargain.

To enter, simply Read the Rules and then Submit Your Essay using the form.

We hope you'llweigh in.