Because of the strong winds, the captain steered a course closer to the islands than usual.  When she passed Shackleton Shoals one of the crew members informed the captain that the seams had opened up.  Water in the engine room rose and it was filling fast below.  At the point, the Elsie K sent out a distress signal.  A tanker called the Seneca Sun came to their aid, in hopes of towing them in.  But the Elsie K was going down too fast therefore the crew had to abandon ship and board the tanker.  She then buckled and sank heels first right beside the tanker in 27 feet of water just outside the channel.  The canal department dynamited the wreck to keep it from being a navigational hazards.

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