The Mellish was a large and clumsy ship, heavily laden, and drawing much water, but he felt confident that he could take her through the pass.

At any rate the attempt was worth making, and if he did fail, it would be better to wreck her, he thought, than allow her to be recaptured.

The English captain either knew or did not know of the shoal and the channel.

If he knew it, he would have to make a long detour, for in no case would the depth of water in the pass permit a heavy ship as was the pursuing vessel to follow them; and, aided by the darkness rapidly closing down, the Mellish would be enabled to escape.
If the English captain were a new man on the station, and unacquainted with the existence of the shoal, as was most likely--well, then he was apt to lose his ship and all on board of her, if he chased too far and too hard.

The problem resolved itself into this: if the Mellish could maintain her distance from the pursuer until it was necessary to come by the wind for a short tack, and still have sufficient space and time left to enable her to run up to the mouth of the channel without being sunk, or forced to strike by the batteries of the frigate, they might escape; if not--God help them all! thought Seymour, desperately, for in that event he resolved to run the vessel on the rocky edge of the shoal at the pass mouth and sink her.
They were rapidly drawing down upon the shoal at the point from which they must come by the wind, on the starboard tack.