[2] She arrived at Leith on 6 February 1836, and the company made great use of her sailing through difficult waters announcing: The passage round the north... served one purpose effectively – the proving of her capabilities as a seaboat in the hardest weather that blows.

[5] Thereafter, she suffered from several accidents; in August 1836, on one sailing from Leith to Hull, she struck a rock "..nearly opposite Bamborough Castle[sic]".

However, after Spurn Point, they lost sight of each other, and during the passage through the Farne Islands, the Forfarshire sunk, resulting in the loss of 43 lives, and bringing attention to the heroics of Grace and William Darling.

[10][8] On 1 May 1839, the ship was lost in fog as she approached the Firth of Forth on a sailing north from Hull, and even though the captain slowed to half-speed, and took depth soundings, she was still adrift of her intended location when she struck a rock off the Fife coast.

[13] Between 12:20 and 12:30 am on the morning of 20 July, the ship struck Goldstone Rock, some 70 miles (110 km) south of Leith, as she was passing between the Farne Islands and the mainland.

[20] After staying at the scene for several hours, the Martello sailed to Leith and took the bodies with her, as well as the survivors, two of whom, Bailey (or Baillie) and Hildyard, were passengers.

Questions were later asked why a ship, on a clear night sailing through the Inner Passage of the Farne Islands, could strike a rock given that she had plied that route almost weekly for the last seven years.

[15] A coroners' inquest was held in August 1843 at Leith, which apportioned compensation to families of those who died, and a lesser payment for those who lost freight cargo.

[23] In November 1843, a bottle was washed ashore on the Netherlands which contained the following message: Pegasus steamer, to Fern Islands,[note 1] night of Wednesday, July 19th, 1843.