 Carrying passengers and some general goods to the sum of £7,000 it experienced a problem with its engines roughly 15 miles from Smalls Lighthouse.After failing to negotiate the price of being towed by the Cork to Milford ferry, "City of Paris", the captain made the decision to set sail for the deep ports of Milford Haven in the south of Wales.En route the weather worsened and what started as a moderate breeze became a gale-force storm.