There was great sadness in Porthmadog with the loss of the little schooner Twelve Apostles in Hells Mouth on November 23rd 1898, she was very much loved by the people of "Port" and was always regarded as their flagship. She was 118 tons and built at Pwllheli in 1858, but had spent most of her working life sailing out of Porthmadog with slate. And on this her last voyage, she was on her way home from Southampton in ballast*. Her Captain Richard Jones of Borth y Gest, had thought of entering Milford Haven, South Wales for shelter, as the wind had increased to storm force from the south, but he decided against this as Milford was very difficult to get out of with that wind direction, so with much reduced sail, he pressed on through the day and in to a most horrendous of nights. His plan of action was to head for St Tudwal's roads for shelter, a favourite anchorage in a southerly or south westerly wind, for any ship heading to Porthmadog or Pwllheli. (Up to fifty ships were known to have used the roads for shelter at any one time) He knew full well to stay well clear of St Patrick's causeway to the east, that shallow graveyard for countless vessels, but there again he didn't want to go too far to the west and miss Llyn altogether. But in the dim light of a stormy dawn his worst fears were realized, Cilan head was on his starboard side, which meant he was too far over to the west, and with the wind still howling from the south, it was only a matter of time before his little ship would be blown into the roaring surf of Hells Mouth, and certain destruction. A change of course to port (West) was out of the question, as this would have taken him onto the ragged rocks of Rhiw. Sailing vessels have a lot of leeway**, especially when light and / or in heavy weather and there was no way that she was going to clear Penarfynydd headland, at the western end of the bay, let alone make Bardsey sound, and the relative shelter of the north coast of Llyn. No, his only option was to head straight for the beach. "As a seafarer, I can only imagine the horror the crew must have gone through, being on a lee shore, helpless, and at the mercy of a relentless storm". When she approached the shore the crew got into they're small work boat, but it was quickly overcome by the huge waves. But "Lady Luck" was up to her tricks, the "Lady" being the maid of a near by farm Trefollwyn.  She happened to see this drama unfold and ran down to the beach, and with out any hesitation at all, she was out and up to her neck in the surf, dragging every man to the beach and safety. The next day a Telegram arrived at the Cornhill exchange in Liverpool which read.

  "Twelve Apostles taking in water at Hells Mouth"  

Magnificent Twelve Apostles figurehead, a bust of St Paul