At about 8.10 p.m. the sound of a muffled explosion was heard, and the crew were then ordered into their boats, the submarine disappearing in the darkness. The master and six men entered the jolly-boat, the remaining nine men taking to the life-boat. Soon afterwards the two boats became separated in the darkness. They rowed the jolly-boat all through the night, and at 6 a.m. next day the steward died from exposure. His body was thrown overboard at 6 o'clock that evening. Land was then visible, but a snow-storm came on, and land was lost. They rowed all through the night, but on Tuesday morning land was sighted again, and at 10 a.m. the boat touched the beach and was overturned by breakers. The remaining six men managed to get ashore, but soon after landing the second engineer and a fireman died on the beach. The four survivors were taken to hospital, and on 12th February the mate and chief and second engineers were discharged. The master was left behind, suffering from exposure and shell wounds. At 12.50 p.m., in very thick weather, on the 9th February, the British trawler _Benbow_ was fired upon by a German submarine. As the fog lifted two shots were fired, followed by four more while the boat was being got out. The crew were transferred to the submarine while a party of Germans visited the trawler. They returned with 5 stone of flour, 3 tins of treacle, 4 stone of sugar, half-a-dozen boxes of Quaker oats, 3 barrels of meat, 10 lbs. of sausages, several tins of milk, 2 clocks, and the kits of the skipper and chief engineer. When the submarine was last seen the clothes were being divided amongst the Germans. The trawler was sunk by a bomb; the submarine disappeared in the fog. On the same day the British trawler _Athenian_ was attacked by a U-boat, seven or eight shots being fired while her boat was being got out. Everything portable was taken from the trawler by the Germans. After she had been sunk, the German commander asked the skipper whether he would like to go to Germany or remain in his open boat. The skipper chose his boat. The men were picked up at 2 p.m. next day. At 12.30 p.m. on the 10th February, 1917, the master of the British trawler _Ireland_ was towing his trawl at a speed of 2½ miles an hour when he sighted a German submarine 2½ miles away on the port side. The submarine fired a shot which dropped 2 yards clear of the trawler's stern. Her boat was at once got out, two more shots being fired, one of which dropped just astern, while the other passed over the funnel. The crew embarked in their boat without casualties, and the Germans then looted the trawler, taking away the ship's papers, sextant, binoculars, fisherman's almanack, and a basket of provisions. They sank the trawler at about 1 p.m. The crew were picked up by a patrol-boat at 6 a.m. on the 14th February, and landed at Scarborough at 8 o'clock that night, when two of them were sent to hospital suffering from frost-bite.