For nine weeks Riou and his small crew navigated "Guardian", by now little more than a raft, across the to the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape was sighted on 21 February 1790, and whalers were despatched from Table Bay to help the battered ship to safety. On 15 March Riou sent a letter from Table Bay expressing his intent to try reach Saldanha Bay, there to moor close to the shore to preserve what he could of the vessel and cargo. The letter also included a list of the 61 men and one woman (Elizabeth Schafer, daughter of one of the Superintendents of Convicts) on board "Guardian".