The court‐martial which assembled on the 27th of August, 1878, on board the _Duke of Wellington_ flagship, under the presidency of Admiral Fanshawe, C.B., Commander‐in‐Chief at Portsmouth, reported that the ship had foundered from pressure of wind upon her sails during a sudden and exceptionally dense snowstorm, which overtook her when its approach was partially hidden by the proximity of the ship to high land. “Some of the upper half‐ports on the main‐deck were open at the time, which materially conduced to the catastrophe; but the court considers that the upper half‐ ports having been open was justifiable and usual under the state of the wind and weather up to the time of the actual occurrence of the storm.” The finding of the court‐martial mentioned the fact that the captain was frequently on deck during the afternoon; and attributed blame to no one on board. It considered the ship, which had had ten years’ sea service, to have been thoroughly stable. A large number of other authorities, however, thought very differently—that she was top‐heavy, and that she was undoubtedly carrying too much sail. After exactly twenty‐three weeks from the day of her foundering the _Eurydice_ was, on Sunday, the 1st of September, safely towed into Portsmouth harbour. “As an example of perseverance and determination to succeed, the recovery of the ship is unique. The elements, which throughout the operations may truly be said to have fought against the efforts to float her being successful, made a final attempt to render those endeavours abortive on the Thursday night and Friday morning, with such effect that the Admiralty deemed it inexpedient that further attempts should be made, and had even gone to the extent of ordering her to be taken to pieces where she lay. Rear‐Admiral Foley, and those who had so ably and perseveringly worked with him, were, however, reluctant to abandon the attempt to recover the ship, and he pledged himself that he would undertake to bring her into harbour. This pledge was redeemed.”(58) The divers throughout the operations could work only at slack tides and in very fine weather, the under‐currents on the Isle of Wight coast being exceptionally strong.