Gilliatt had not expected to find only half of the vessel. Nothing in the account by the skipper of the Shealtiel, which had been so exact and detailed, had given any indication that the Durande had split in two. The break had probably taken place when the skipper heard a “devil of a crash.” No doubt he had been some distance away when the final blast of wind struck, and what he had thought was merely a heavy sea had in fact been a waterspout. Later, when he had drawn closer to observe the wreck, he had been able to see only the forward part of the vessel, the rest—that is, the wide break that
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Shades of that big liner that hit some ice in 1912
