Reminds me of a shrimp boat off the coast of Texas when a hurricane was approaching. Storm coming up faster than the boat could go, so Capt called Coasties and they picked crew off the boat with a chopper. Boat left idling in gear on AP heading into the seas.
A week or so later they get a call that the boat is grounded in the Fla Keys, engine still running. Samaritans boarded the boat and shut off the engine. Sea tow or someone pulled it off the soft grounding and anchored it.
Capt flew out and ran it back to Texas.
Best they could tell, the thing went right through the worst of the storm. Very little damage.
This was like 20yrs ago, I have no idea how to look for the story. I happened to be in the keys at the time, so remember it.