The voyage of the Nostra Signora del San Rosario e San Rocco

A shipment of cargo of 38 bales of Brazilian tobacco, 24 sacks of Piedmontese rice, 1200 bales of shirts, 100 towels, four cases of citrus goods and other materials, and 350 boxes of preserved foods loaded in Genoa and intended for delivery in Syracuse. The cargo was loaded by the Genoese merchants Antonio Maria Bringoli, Tommaso Brugate, and Giovanni Battista Tellungo. The ship made a stop in Messina before setting out to Syracuse on 30 October 1718. Shortly after setting out, the ship encountered strong west and south-west winds, which made navigation toward Syracuse impossible. The adverse conditions forced the vessel to turn back, but it could not reenter Messina due to the weather and was diverted to Reggio Calabria, where it remained for six days awaiting improvement. While in Reggio Calabria, the crew received news of active corsairs near Syracuse, prompting the captain to abandon the commercial plan and return to Messina. The vessel departed Reggio Calabria on November, but while passing near Messina it was intercepted by seven Spanish galleys that forced the vessel to sail with them to Mortelle. It was held there until midnight, after which it was released and set course for Genoa under strong south-east winds and increasingly rough seas. During the night of 10 November, as waves intensified and the vessel labored under the strain, the captain ordered multiple inspections of the bilge, which revealed rapidly rising water. Despite frantic efforts by the crew using pumps and buckets, the flooding worsened, and after three hours of continuous labor, it became clear the vessel could not be saved and it was decided to abandon ship about 55 km from the Island of Stromboli. The entire crew escaped into a small lifeboat (caique) and watched as the vessel sank and the cargo was lost. The crew spent the remainder of the night and following day in peril on the open sea, continuously bailing water from the caique until it reached Circella around midday on 11 November.