After "Hull" was ordered to change course to 140 degrees, ostensibly by Admiral Halsey "to see what they were doing," the wind increased to over 100 knots. At about 11:00 hours, on 18 December, "Hull" became locked "in irons", in the trough of the mountainous sea. Unable to steer with the north wind on her port beam, yawing between 80 and 100 degrees, the whaleboat and depth charges were swept off. As the roll increased to 70 degrees, she was pinned down by a gust as the sea flooded the pilot house and poured down the stacks. All hands worked feverishly to maintain integrity and keep the ship afloat during the heavy rolls, but finally, in the words of her commander, Lt. Cmdr James A. Marks, "the ship remained over on her side at an angle of 80 degrees or more as the water flooded into her upper structures. I remained on the port wing of the bridge until the water flooded up to me, then I stepped off into the water as the ship rolled over on her way down". A later finding was that additional sea water ballast could possibly have helped the ship recover from the 70-degree roll.