The voyage of the Nostra Signora del Carmine

A shipment of rice and money loaded in Baia and intended for Messina with a subsequent stop in Lipari. The vessel departed from Baiae on 6 February 1721 under charter to the merchant Francesco Maria Berio and initially enjoyed favorable west and south-west winds, but on the night of 8 February, it encountered a violent storm near Paola on the Calabrian coast, with strong west/south-west winds and heavy rain. The vessel was unable to reach port, the ship was forced to remain at sea overnight and on the next morning, 9 February, it made refuge in Santa Eufemia to avoid the persistent bad weather. The patron loaded an additional cargo of wooden planks for delivery to Messina while waiting out the storm. The vessel set sail again on 2 March, taking advantage of improved conditions and favorable north/north-east winds, but encountered strong south/south-east winds on 3 March near Capo Vaticano, and by nightfall it was forced off-course by strong north-east winds. The crew attempted again to round Capo Vaticano on 5 March, but encountered another violent storm with south/south-west winds that damaged the mainmast and sail. The patron and crew decided to anchor and evacuate the ship to escape danger, loading the cargo and belongings onto the lifeboat, but it was driven into the rocks by the storm and destroyed. The storm continued through the night of 6 March, but by the morning of 7 March the weather had calmed enough for the crew to hire transport and return to the vessel, where they found much of the equipment had been damaged. On 9 March, while en route to Messina, a new storm forced the vessel into Milazzo, where it remained until 12 March. With the weather again easing, the vessel finally reached Messina in the evening of 12 March, and the patron made a testimony the following day.