Shovell's fleet of twenty-one ships left Gibraltar on 29 September, with HMS Association serving as his own flagship, HMS Royal Anne as flagship of Vice-Admiral of the Blue Sir George Byng and HMS Torbay as flagship of Rear-Admiral of the Blue Sir John Norris.
The passage was marked by extremely bad weather and constant squalls and westerly gales.
As the fleet sailed out on the Atlantic, passing the Bay of Biscay on their way to England, the weather worsened, and on most days it was impossible to take the observations needed to determine their latitude.
On 21 October they came into the soundings, with depths of 93-130 fathoms (about 170-240 metres), indicating that they were coming onto the edge of the continental shelf.
At noon that day the weather cleared and good readings of latitude were obtained, at 48° 50-57'.
Taken together these observations suggest a location about 200 miles WSW of Scilly.
This was the last observation of latitude, and the rest of the voyage used dead reckoning.

Due to the known difficulties of long-distance navigation, it was common practice to send out a frigate to look for a returning fleet, and help guide them safely to port.
This was done, HMS Tartar being sent out from Plymouth on 21st October, but returned on the 24th without encountering Shovell's fleet 
Early on the 21st, the wind had backed from north to south-west, giving the fleet a favourable wind, sailing E.N.E. At 11 a.m. three ships were detached to head to Falmouth on convoy duty.
At 4 p.m. on the 22nd, the fleet hove-to and again took soundings.
The wind continued to be favourable, though visibility was poor and night was approaching.
Presumably believing that the channel was open, Shovell gave the order to sail on, at about 6 p.m. The fleet headed E by N until at about 8 p.m. the flagship and several other vessels found themselves among the rocks to the south-westwards of St Agnes Island.
Four ships were lost:
HMS Association, a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line commanded by Captain Edmund Loades, struck the Outer Gilstone Rock (see image) off Scilly's Western Rocks at 8 p.m. and sank, drowning her entire crew of about 800 men and Admiral Shovell himself.
Following behind the Association was St George, whose crew saw the flagship go down in three or four minutes.
St George also struck rocks and suffered damage but eventually managed to get off, as did HMS Phoenix which ran ashore between Tresco and St Martin's but could be kept seaworthy.

HMS Eagle, a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line commanded by Captain Robert Hancock, hit the Crim Rocks and was lost with all hands on Tearing Ledge amongst the Western Rocks.
It is estimated that HMS Eagle had at least as many crew as HMS Association; there were no survivors.
Sinking a few hundred metres away from Bishop Rock, her wreck lies in a depth of 130 feet.

HMS Romney, a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line commanded by Captain William Coney, hit Bishop Rock and went down with all save one of her 290 crew being lost.
The sole survivor from the three largest ships was George Lawrence, who had worked as a butcher before joining the crew of Romney as quartermaster.

HMS Firebrand, a fireship commanded by Captain Francis Percy, struck the Outer Gilstone Rock like Association, but unlike the flagship she was lifted off by a wave.
Percy managed to steer his badly damaged ship along the southern side of the Western Rocks between St Agnes and Annet, but she foundered in Smith Sound, sinking close to Menglow Rock and losing 28 of her crew of 40. (
It is also reported the survivors numbered 23).

Of other ships in the fleet:
HMS Royal Anne was saved from foundering by her crew quickly setting her topsails, and weathering the rocks when within a ship's length of them.

The exact number of officers, sailors and marines who were killed in the sinking of the four ships is unknown.
Statements vary between 1,400 and over 2,000, making it one of the greatest maritime disasters in British history.
For days afterwards, bodies continued to wash onto the shores of the isles along with the wreckage of the w
Shovell's fleet of twenty-one ships left Gibraltar on 29 September, with HMS Association serving as his own flagship, HMS Royal Anne as flagship of Vice-Admiral of the Blue Sir George Byng and HMS Torbay as flagship of Rear-Admiral of the Blue Sir John Norris. The passage was marked by extremely bad weather and constant squalls and westerly gales. As the fleet sailed out on the Atlantic, passing the Bay of Biscay on their way to England, the weather worsened, and on most days it was impossible to take the observations needed to determine their latitude. On 21 October they came into the soundings, with depths of 93-130 fathoms (about 170-240 metres), indicating that they were coming onto the edge of the continental shelf. At noon that day the weather cleared and good readings of latitude were obtained, at 48° 50-57'. Taken together these observations suggest a location about 200 miles WSW of Scilly. This was the last observation of latitude, and the rest of the voyage used dead reckoning. 
Due to the known difficulties of long-distance navigation, it was common practice to send out a frigate to look for a returning fleet, and help guide them safely to port. This was done, HMS Tartar being sent out from Plymouth on 21st October, but returned on the 24th without encountering Shovell's fleet 
Early on the 21st, the wind had backed from north to south-west, giving the fleet a favourable wind, sailing E.N.E. At 11 a.m. three ships were detached to head to Falmouth on convoy duty. At 4 p.m. on the 22nd, the fleet hove-to and again took soundings. The wind continued to be favourable, though visibility was poor and night was approaching. Presumably believing that the channel was open, Shovell gave the order to sail on, at about 6 p.m. The fleet headed E by N until at about 8 p.m. the flagship and several other vessels found themselves among the rocks to the south-westwards of St Agnes Island. Four ships were lost:
HMS Association, a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line commanded by Captain Edmund Loades, struck the Outer Gilstone Rock (see image) off Scilly's Western Rocks at 8 p.m. and sank, drowning her entire crew of about 800 men and Admiral Shovell himself. Following behind the Association was St George, whose crew saw the flagship go down in three or four minutes. St George also struck rocks and suffered damage but eventually managed to get off, as did HMS Phoenix which ran ashore between Tresco and St Martin's but could be kept seaworthy.
HMS Eagle, a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line commanded by Captain Robert Hancock, hit the Crim Rocks and was lost with all hands on Tearing Ledge amongst the Western Rocks. It is estimated that HMS Eagle had at least as many crew as HMS Association; there were no survivors. Sinking a few hundred metres away from Bishop Rock, her wreck lies in a depth of 130 feet.
HMS Romney, a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line commanded by Captain William Coney, hit Bishop Rock and went down with all save one of her 290 crew being lost. The sole survivor from the three largest ships was George Lawrence, who had worked as a butcher before joining the crew of Romney as quartermaster.
HMS Firebrand, a fireship commanded by Captain Francis Percy, struck the Outer Gilstone Rock like Association, but unlike the flagship she was lifted off by a wave. Percy managed to steer his badly damaged ship along the southern side of the Western Rocks between St Agnes and Annet, but she foundered in Smith Sound, sinking close to Menglow Rock and losing 28 of her crew of 40. (It is also reported the survivors numbered 23).
Of other ships in the fleet:
HMS Royal Anne was saved from foundering by her crew quickly setting her topsails, and weathering the rocks when within a ship's length of them.
The exact number of officers, sailors and marines who were killed in the sinking of the four ships is unknown. Statements vary between 1,400 and over 2,000, making it one of the greatest maritime disasters in British history. For days afterwards, bodies continued to wash onto the shores of the isles along with the wreckage of the w
Scilly naval disaster of 1707