1812	Narrow escape of the Magnificent	59

Isle de Ré, nearly mid-channel, in 16 fathoms' water, in the entrance to Basque road ; the courses reefed, and top-gallant-yards down. At 8 o'clock, the weather appearing suspicious, and the wind beginning to blow, the top-gallant-masts were got down on deck : at half-past, it came on squally, and the ship was veered to a cable and a half. At 9, she was found to be driving, and in only 11 fathoms' water ; the small bower was instantly let go, which brought her up in 10 fathoms. Yards and topmasts were immediately struck, as close down as they could be got. The moon was not to be seen, yet it was not a dark night : it just gave sufficient light to show us our dangerous situation; the sea breaking on the reef, with great violence, about a quarter of a mile astern, and on the starboard quarter. As soon as the topmasts were down, orders were given to heave in upon the best bower, which appeared to be slack, as though the anchor had broken. Three quarters of a cable were got in, when the stock appearing to catch a rock, it held fast : service of course was put in the wake of the hawse, and the cable secured. The inner cable of the best bower was unspliced, and bent to the spare anchor ; and a leads-man was kept in the chains to heave the lead, the same as though the ship had been under way, in addition to the deep-sea lead, attended at the gangway by a quarter master, when it was discovered by the man in the chains, that there was a large rock under the ship's bottom, of three fathoms in height: in fact the ground was covered with rocks, and the ship in the midst of them, with the wind at W.S.W. blowing a gale, with small rain and a heavy sea. In this state we remained, with people stationed with axes to the sheet and spare anchors, till daylight when the man at the deep-sea lead declared the ship to be driving. The spare anchor was directly cut away, and the range taken out ; when the ship brought up again, and when the ebb tide made, she took the whole cable service, and rode with the best and small bowers ahead, and the spare anchor broad on the starboard bow. The gale appeared to increase ; the sea was high ; and, as it broke sometimes outside the ship, it proved she was in the midst of rock, and that the cables could not remain long without being cut. The wind at this period was west, and St-Marie church bore east, and the distance where the ship would have gone to pieces, about one cable's length ; the shoalest part of the reef about two cables, lying in an S.S.E. and N.N.W. direction. The wind now came to W.b.N. ; but to counteract this favourable change, it was a lee tide, and a heavy sea setting right on the reef, and neither officers nor men thought it possible, in any way, to cast her clear of the reef, and to make sail, more particularly as the yards and topmasts were down. The captain, however, gave orders to sway the fore-yard two-thirds up ; and, while that was doing, to get a hawser for a spring to cast the ship by from the starboard quarter to the spare cable ; while this was doing, the spare cable parted, and we had only the

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