One seemingly minor course change and you're in the middle of hell. You made the right moves once you realized where you were, stop. Seems like a pretty rational approach to get out, move slow and look before you leap. The Witches have held fear and awe for me since my first days on the lake. I actually envy you, I've always wanted to see them up close.
The Witches are a lot bigger that people think. See this photo. I honked at some one heading directly for them on Sunday. They stopped at the Danger marker. I've seen people traverse gap between the northern piles and the southern one. I'm not sure if it was intentional.
http://maps.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTEx...400989&zoom=16