and Brás Sodré refused (the ongoing quarrel over the spoils may have been a factor in this separation.) As the locals predicted, the tempest came on April 30, and sunk the exposed ships of Vicente Sodré and Brás Sodré. In the aftermath, the four remaining ships of the Indian Ocean patrol, now under the command of Pêro de Ataíde, elected to return at once to India. Ataíde would later (in February 1504) compose a letter to the king, with an account of the travails of the Indian Ocean patrol. He carefully excused Vicente Sodré's actions, laying most of the blame on the bad counsel and decisions of Brás Sodré (who really comes out as the villain of the story). Although it is significant that Ataíde, in that same letter, asked the king to grant him Vicente Sodré's old position of alcalde-mor of Tomar (Ataide, alas, died shortly after in Mozambique). Ataíde wrote that Vicente Sodré sunk and died immediately in the tempest at Kuria Muria, but that Brás Sodré actually survived the wreck. However, once ashore, Brás Sodré decided to blame his Muslim pilots and executed them on the spot. Ataíde refrains from saying exactly what happened to Brás Sodré after that, only that 'many things transpired' before his death. Shipwrecks The wreck site of Vicente and Bras Sodré's ships was first discovered just off the north-eastern coast of Al Hallaniyah island, Oman, in May 1998 by a two-person team from Blue Water Recoveries Ltd (BWR); location was based on the company's own analysis of historical documents. Later that year, a larger team from BWR, including a contracted nautical archaeologist from Portugal, conducted a reconnaissance survey of the bay and wreck site. They recovered a number of artifacts consistent with an early 16th-century shipwreck, including lead-covered iron shot, stone cannonballs of varying sizes, and a sounding lead. Expeditions were conducted under a permit from the Oman Government. No further investigation of the site was conducted, primarily because of the considerable complexity and cost of supporting a full archaeological excavation in this remote location. These challenges were addressed in 2013 by David L. Mearns, owner and Director of BWR, and an agreement was made with Oman's Ministry of Heritage and Culture (MHC) to jointly conduct and co-manage the project. The MHC is the official government body responsible for the protection of Oman's underwater cultural heritage, and this was the first collaborative