July one passenger was very weak with dysentery and others of the crew could no longer chew their rations. The boat was very short of food and water. On 17 July Anson estimated the coast to be away, but he had overestimated the boat's progress and they were still far from land. On 20 July the passenger with dysentery died and his body was committed to the sea. On 22 July another male passenger died and his body was also committed to the sea. Anson was now too weak to remain in command and handed over to the Third Officer, Richard Clarke. On 23 July at 10:30 two Portuguese Naval Aviation aeroplanes sighted and circled the boat. The Third Officer, William Clarke, described them as "seaplanes" but they may have been Grumman G-21 Goose flying boats. The planes dropped three lifejackets with bottles and tins of biscuits attached. The boat's occupants managed to recover two of the jackets from the sea. At 11:45 a Portuguese plane dropped a cylinder containing a message that help would arrive soon and a chart with the boat's position marked. North easterly trade winds had blown the boat much further south than Anson had estimated: about off the West African coast at . The boat continued to sail east southeast. Help did not immediately come. On 24 July about 18:30 an aeroplane was sighted overhead heading northeast but it made no contact with the boat. Deaths continued throughout 23, 24 and 25 July and the surviving crew continued to commit their bodies to the sea. At 10:00 on 25 July the mast of a ship was sighted and Anson burnt distress flares to attract her attention. This was a Portuguese Navy , , which rescued the surviving occupants and hoisted the boat aboard. The aviso had been quartering the coordinates provided by the aircraft, and was about to abandon the search when she sighted Clarke's flares. By this time 10 men had died in No. 6 boat. The remaining sick men were admitted to the Pedro Nuness sick bay, but one of the assistant stewards died shortly afterward. They aviso reached Lisbon on 26 July and the wounded were transferred to hospital, where two more men died. The survivors from Boat No. 6 had suffered cold, lack of sleep, food and water and lost a great deal of weight. 20 days' exposure to salt water