Fernando paid little attention to the course of the vessel.  He had been in nearly all the parts of the world, and seldom asked which continent they were on, or in what waters they sailed.  He was sober, silent and melancholy.

One bright August day in 1811, they were off some coast, he knew not what.  All day the weather had been glorious.  Toward sunset, the clouds began to gather in heavy masses to the southeast, and a little later a heavy breeze sprang up from that direction.  As darkness came on, the wind increased, blowing a strong gale, and it blew all night.  As morning dawned a dense fog settled down over the vessel and completely obscured everything.  Soundings were taken; but the captain, who had yielded to the seductive punch of Terrence Malone, could not determine where they were.  When daylight came the sea had changed color, which proved that they were in shallow water.  On heaving the lead it was ascertained that they were only in twelve fathoms water.

“Wear ship!” shouted Captain Bones in a tone of thunder.  The vessel was then under such small sail that she had not headway enough to stay her.  As she answered to her helm and payed off, bringing the wind aft, high land was seen astern.  Suddenly the fog lifted.  At the same instant, the wind changed to the southwest, blowing harder.  A cloud of canvas flew into the air, and, looking up, Fernando saw it was the jib.  The vessel lost what little headway she had and drifted heavily to leeward.  As the fog cleared toward the land, they looked early in that direction and to their dismay and horror, they saw heavy breakers beating so close to them, that there was no room to wear the ship round.  The captain at once gave orders to clear away the anchors.  A seaman went forward with an axe to cut the lashings of the one on the port side.  As soon as the cable had been cut, the starboard anchor was sent adrift and thirty fathoms of cable ran out.  The order was given to “hold on,” and as it was obeyed the port cable broke.  The sloop immediately swung around, bringing all her weight on the starboard cable, which, being unable to stand the strain, parted, and then they were left entirely to the mercy of the wind and sea.

The suspense was short.  A tremendous sea came rolling toward the sloop, struck it with terrific force, lifted it high on its crest and carried it forward toward the breakers.  In another instant the vessel was driven with a crash on the sandy bottom.  At the same moment down came the foremast, taking with it the jib-boom and bowsprit, all disappearing into the sea.  Wave after wave washed over them in quick succession.  The mainmast was split, and the noise made by it, as it was beaten about by the gale was deafening.  All the poor wretches on board the Sea Shell could do was to hold on for dear life.