The gale was increasing with a very heavy sea, causing the ship to roll heavily. I heaved her up to the sea, but in about ten minutes she fell off four or five points and I could not get her to the wind again.
I set the mainsail and topsail to get her before the wind but the crew of the topsail was carried away and the fore mainsail was split by the violence of the gale. From this time the ship became unmanageable, constantly rolling.
I believe the rudder shaft had parted at this moment, though the fracture was not discovered till the next morning owing to the steady resistance offered by fourteen men at the relieving gear. Neither the man at the helm, nor those at the reversing gear heard any noise or felt any jar which could lead to a suspicion that the rudder or shaft had parted.
At about 6:30 P.M. the port paddle wheel broke up and was carried away. About midnight the gale was fearful with a tremendous sea. The ship was labouring and rolling heavily.
