Sir E. J. Reed’s objections to the _Captain_ design have already been mentioned. He was not the only critic, since Laird’s, of Birkenhead, who built the ship, were so suspicious of the design that they requested the Admiralty to submit her to severe tests for stability. The ship, however, came through these tests very well, and the public were more convinced than ever that she was the finest warship ever built. One or two naval officers who had criticised her also modified their opinions after she had done a couple of very successful cruises across the Bay of Biscay. Her crew had the utmost confidence in her. She was commanded by Captain Burgoyne, and Captain Coles was also on board her when she made her third cruise in September, 1871. On the 6th September she was off Cape Finisterre in company with the Channel Fleet, consisting of the _Lord Warden_, _Minotaur_, _Agincourt_, _Northumberland_, _Monarch_, _Hercules_, _Bellerophon_, and the unarmoured ships _Inconstant_ and _Bristol_. Admiral Milne came on board her from the _Lord Warden_, and drew attention to the fact that she was rolling a great deal,[102] but nobody on board the _Captain_ agreed with him that this was dangerous. During the night a heavy gale suddenly arose, and in the morning the _Captain_ was missing. Eighteen survivors reached the land with the story of what had happened. [Illustration: THE _CAPTAIN_.] From this it appears that about midnight the ship was under her topsails, double reefed. She had steam up, but was not using her screw. The ship gave a heavy lurch, righted herself, and the captain gave the order, “Let go the topsail halyards,” and immediately afterwards, “Let go fore and main topsail sheets.” The ship, however, continued to heel, and “18 degrees” was called out. This increased until 28 degrees was arrived at. With the ship lying over on her side some of the crew succeeded in walking over her bottom, and these were practically the only survivors. Immediately afterwards the ship went down stern first. There were at this time some five and twenty survivors, including Captain Burgoyne and Mr. May, the gunner. Some of these were in the launch, others clinging to the pinnace, which was floating bottom upwards. Captain Burgoyne was amongst those who were clinging to the pinnace, and that was the last seen of him. A few of the men in the pinnace succeeded in jumping into the launch and so escaped. The rest were never seen again. The subsequent court-martial placed it on record that “the _Captain_ was built in deference to public opinion and in opposition to the views and opinions of the Controller of the Navy and his Department.” The instability of the ship and the incompetence of Captain Coles to design her were emphasised.