Struggling!

I have been having problems portraying the 'struggle' scene within my animation so i thought it would be best to step away from production. So i went back to you tube to really look at existing scenarios caught on camera of all types of boats getting caught it storms.

I have noticed that by just rotating the boat on the wave doesn't give the right affect - i need to use action/reaction so maybe use a wave that will crash into the boat or at least push the boat backwards. OR possibly spin and tip the boat upside down to show loss of control, as the boat is the character itself i need to make the audience feel for it. I could also maybe vary camera angles to show vulnerability and desperation.