Kieran Doherty Quote

Vessels in the fleet endured after leaving the company of the Sea Venture. The first thing that happened—and this was reported by every witness—was that the ships scattered. Contact was soon lost and it was every vessel for herself. In reality, even if the ships’ captains had wanted to stay in contact, it would have been impossible. The only way for ships to communicate was by flag or other visual signals, by lights at night, or by horns or cannon. At the height of a storm, such communication was obviously out of the question. As the wind increased and waves grew, every ship’s master would have had his hands full saving his own ship and passengers and crew.