The danger in which the French ships were placed will best be understood from an account written by one of the officers of the _Ocean_, the French admiral's flag-ship. After the _Ocean_, narrowly escaping being blown up, had grounded, a burning fire-ship grappled her athwart her stern. Every effort was made to prevent the fire from catching the ship; the engine playing, completely wetted the poop, while spars were used to heave off the fire-ship, and axes to cut the lashings of her grapnels fastened to the end of her yards; but the _chevaux-de-frise_ on her sides held her firm. The flames from the fire-ship covering the whole of the poop, it seemed impossible that the _Ocean_ could escape. At this juncture two other line-of-battle ships, the _Tonnerre_ and _Patriote_, fell on board her. The first broke her own bowsprit and destroyed the _Ocean's_ main-channels. As the fire-ship athwart the stern was now about to drive forward along the starboard side, the _Tonnerre_ was got free. Unless this had happened the fire-ship would have fallen into the angle formed by the two ships, and would inevitably have burnt them. The fire-vessel having now drifted under the bowsprit of the _Ocean_, was there held for some time. In order to afford the _Tonnerre_ and _Patriote_ an opportunity to get out of her reach, an attempt had been made to drown the magazine, but the flow of water was too slow for the purpose. In the efforts to clear the fire-ships upwards of fifty men fell into the sea and were drowned, the boats saving others.