 To the east , on the other side of Saint Denis , Rowley ordered his forces to land . The first ashore was intended to be Nesbit Willoughby in a schooner named <unk> , to secure the beach and organise the landing forces . However , as this boat approached the beach the wind strengthened and built up a powerful surf , which smashed the schooner ashore with enough force to break it apart : four of the 150 @-@ strong landing party were drowned . Realising that the smaller transports would be similarly overwhelmed by the waves , Keating ordered a small brig named <unk> driven on shore as a breakwater . This allowed a number of additional boats safely to reach the beach but did not provide enough cover for a full landing before nightfall . 
