The Ledge by Lawrence Sargent Hall

An old fisherman awakes at dawn on a cold Christmas morning to go on a boat trip with his son and nephew to an island where he can do some duck hunting without getting caught. Only one part of the trip would be treacherous: the crooked channel between the islands. The timing of the trip couldn't be better for duck hunting. However, the fisherman's plan begins to fall apart when he discovers that he has forgotten his smoke tobacco. After shooting nearly one hundred ducks, they settle in for the next round of ducks. As the fisherman gets out of the blind to discover the skiff nowhere in sight, the story takes a sharp turn toward danger. A blizzard forms at sea and begins to encompass them. During this time, they are standing on a ledge that the sea slowly begins to swallow. The fisherman knows that soon there will be no land left to stand on. The end of this story is powerful and blunt...not for the faint of heart.