And then disaster struck
A huge rock rose against the black sky, about 95 meters from the ship. The top of the rock was invisible, there was no shoreline, and the waves were crashing directly onto the bare rock face. What followed was a desperate, hours-long fight for life and death. The crew tried to stay away from the rocks, but the ship was tossed about by the wind, surf, and current.
Towards midnight, the upper deck hit the rocks. The ship was completely at the mercy of the elements, and the crew lost hope of getting out of the wreck alive. At one o’clock in the morning, the foremast broke and fell over the port side. At the same time, the crew placed the yard across the length of the ship to stabilize the ship against the rock face. It was probably during this work that the crew spotted a narrow ledge on the steep rock face, which miraculously saved their lives. The captain gave the order to abandon ship and the crew climbed over the mast to the narrow ledge.