Henry Swain and a boy, named William Bates. Five widows and nine children were left to mourn their loss. Fears were at first entertained that another boat of a similar name had shared the same fate, but, after losing one man, she returned to the harbour on Monday afternoon, having survived the tempestuous weather. [The weather forecast of the St Leonards Gazette for the first of those two days (March 8th), was "Lunar aspects predicate lively atmospheric state"] and the condition of the weather as it locally occurred was described thus:-
"The morning's dawn was beautiful and bland,
The rising sun did cheer, Britannia's land;
But soon a fog-storm, threat'ning as could be,
Came strangely rolling northward from the sea.
As as o'er land imperviously it swelled,
It wind's diversion west to south impelled.
As from the fog the air was getting clear,
The retrogressive winds did further veer;
And then, of snowy whiteness, came in view,
Electric vapours - sky intensely blue.
With warmth unusual for the time of year,
A day most beautiful did thus appear;
But ev'ning came, with vivid lightning's flash,
And rain and wind, with thunders awful crash.
The forecast for the second day of the storm (March 9th) was -
"At first the weather seemeth mild,
Then more unsettled - windy, wild.
The weather as it occurred was thus described:-
The wind blew strongly all the night,
Yet Jupiter benign.
Produced a morning mainly bright
And mild as well as fine.
But ere 'twas noon the rain fell fast,
("Though glass" told diff'rent tale),
And very soon the southern blast
Increased to perfect gale.
It thus continued less or more,
Till eight at eventide,
When Hershel's aspects being o'er
The wind did then subside."
On Monday, March 10th, came the news to Hastings of the grievous loss of the fishermen at Plymouth, which was referred to in the report of the weather for that as follows:-
The morning, under Saturn's sway,
Was ushered in with rain
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