She hit the Caribou Shoals. 36 feet. Her draft was at about 27 feet with ten plus foot waves.
I believe that is the most likely reason she sank.
Although I believe the wave on the bow and a wave on the stern may have also been a cause. Clearly the ship was weakened structurally when she was cut in half and lengthed.
As an aside, I met a retired Coast Guard Officer who was part of an accreditation team at the maritime college in Maine.
He was one of the lead investigators in the investigation.
He said we will never know for sure but he thinks she ran around and torn her bottom out.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. I found it fascinating.