“In the summer of 1795, the Indefatigable, when cruising off Cape Finisterre, fell in with Admiral Waldegrave’s squadron of line-of-battle ships, and the Concorde frigate.  The admiral made signal for the Indefatigable and Concorde to chase a small strange sail running along shore.  All sail was soon set, royals, top-gallant studding-sails, &c., the wind being northerly, and the water as smooth as glass.  At noon, Mr. George Bell, acting master, was in the act of crossing from the starboard gangway to the quarter-deck, to report twelve o’clock to the captain, who was looking over the larboard quarter-deck hammocks at the land, and strange sail, when he suddenly heard a rumbling noise, as if a top-sail-tie had given way, and the yard was coming down.  He looked aloft, but saw nothing amiss, and then perceived that the ship was aground.  Mr. Bell instantly sprang into the main-chains, and dropped the hand lead over.  Only eighteen feet water was on the rock, the ship drawing nineteen and a half feet abaft.  There were twelve and fourteen fathoms under the how and stern, consequently she hung completely in the centre.  Sir Edward, whose judgment in moments of danger was always so correct and decisive as never to have occasion to give a second order, immediately directed some of the main-deck guns to be moved, and the ship’s company to sally her off the rock.  This fortunately succeeded.  The ship fell over heavily, and started into deep water, with five feet water in her hold.  Signals of distress were now made to the flag-ship, and the admiral ordered the Indefatigable to proceed to Lisbon to repair, and the Concorde to accompany us to the mouth of the Tagus.  We arrived on the third day after the accident.  So serious was the leak, that the men could not quit the pumps for a moment, and only a good ship’s company, such as we had, could have kept the ship afloat.

“On the evening of our arrival, the English consul sent on board a number of Portuguese, to relieve the crew.  Early next morning (having the morning watch) I observed all these people leave the pumps.  It was a saint’s day, and they would not work.  I ran into the Captain’s cabin to state the circumstance; he in a moment came out in his dressing-gown, with a drawn sword, chased the Portuguese round the gangways and forecastle, made them to a man lay in at the pumps, and kept them at it till the pumps sucked.

“In order to ascertain whether both sides of the ship had been injured.  Sir Edward resolved to examine the bottom himself; and to the astonishment and admiration of everybody who witnessed this heroic act, he plunged into the water, thoroughly examined both sides, and satisfied himself that the starboard side only had been damaged.  This saved much time and expense; for had not Sir Edward hazarded the experiment, the apparatus for heaving down must have been shifted over.  The Indefatigable was docked on her arrival at Plymouth, early in August, and it then appeared how accurately he had described the injury.  She had twenty-seven of her floors and first futtocks broke, and the Portuguese, in repairing her, had put in seventeen feet of main-keel.  The frame of a regular-built frigate could not have stood the shock.