A gale struck from the north-east during the morning of Monday 27 February 1893. This increased in ferocity during the day, changing direction to northerly around 4.00 p.m. The strongest winds and highest seas seen in the area for twenty years drove the Dato ashore north-west of the jetty. The vessel lost its mainmast and came to rest about a kilometre offshore, where it was later condemned as a wreck.