Captain Fell, master of the Yarmouth registered schooner Thomas & Elizabeth laden with a cargo of gas coal for Dublin, having mistaken Noss Head for Duncansby Head while attempting to pass through the Pentland Firth before daybreak, ran ashore on Keiss Sands in Sinclair's Bay. As no one on land had seen the schooner go ashore, the crew together with the master's wife and child who were also on board, had to struggle ashore as best they could in the small-boat. They were unable to save any of their belongings except the clothes they wore and Captain Fell was badly injured on both legs. Once on dry land the wretched survivors made their way to a nearby farm for shelter. The schooner soon broke up, with the cargo of coal being washed away and buried in the sand.