The ship's captain, Thomas FitzStephen, was ordered by the revelers to catch up to and pass the king's ship which had already sailed. The "White Ship" was fast, of the best construction and had recently been fitted with new materials. This made the captain and crew certain they could reach England first. But when the ship left in the dark, its port side struck a submerged rock called "Quillebœuf" and the ship quickly sank. William Adelin got into a small boat and could have survived but he turned back to try to save his half-sister, Matilda (Countess of Perche), when he heard her cries for help. His boat filled with water when others tried to get in to save themselves, and William drowned along with them. According to Orderic Vitalis only two survived by clinging to the rock all night. One was a butcher from Rouen, the second was Geoffrey de l'Aigle. The chronicler further claimed that when Thomas FitzStephen came to the surface after the sinking and learned that William Adelin had not survived, he let himself drown rather than face the King.