The brave ship struggled gamely; three times she brought her spars to windward, and three times she was laid flat again. The whole of her topgallant rail and bulwarks were washed away, together with everything of a movable nature on the deck. At last after a whole hour of desperate fighting, they managed to get the wheel up, and the clipper slowly righted herself as she fell off and brought the wind astern.
Captain Ovenstone, who was in command at the time, spoke several ships in the Atlantic and told them of his near shave. One of these reported it to a homeward-bound steamer, the consequence was that when the _Ben Voirlich_ arrived those on board found their parents and relations in a great state of mind, not knowing who had been amongst the nine victims and who was safe.
In 1885 the _Ben Voirlich_ had almost as bad an experience to the southward of the Cape of Good Hope, when bound out to Melbourne under Captain Bully Martin. At 8 a.m. on the 6th August a terrific squall from W.N.W. struck the vessel and in a moment the foresail had blown to rags. By 10 a.m. it was blowing a hurricane, the ship scudding before it under fore and main lower topsails. An hour later a tremendous sea pooped her, and washed away the two helmsmen and Captain Martin who was conning them. Captain Martin and the quartermaster, a man named Scott, were swept up against a hen coop, which was lashed up to the bucket rail at the break of the poop, with such force as to smash it to pieces; but it saved them from going over the side. As soon as they could pick themselves up, they made a dash for the wheel, which they found smashed in two and only hung together by its brass rim. Scott held the wheel whilst Captain Martin cleared away the broken part, which was jamming it, and they were just in time to save the ship from broaching to. The lee wheel, a foreigner, had meanwhile got into the mizen rigging and lashed himself with the turned up gear. The seas now broke over the ship in a continuous cascade, and the _Ben Voirlich_ could only be worked from the poop and foc’slehead, to which the crew succeeded in leading the braces. All that night a wild sea looted the ship. Both the standard and steering compasses were swept overboard. The port lifeboat on the skids was smashed to pulp; the topgallant bulwarks were stripped off her, and the poop ladders, harness casks, hen coops, handspikes and such like were all carried off by the tremendous sea.