continued to rise in the hold. The ship's starboard-side guns were reportedly jettisoned to raise her buoyancy, but this only delayed the inevitable. The Admiral of the Company himself, Sir George Somers, was at the helm through the storm. When he spied land on the morning of , The water in the hold had risen to 9 ft, and crew and passengers had been driven past the point of exhaustion.

Whilst still being driven before the storm, the only choice was to try and pick a route through the offshore reefs.