In attempt to arrive at a reasonable time, Chaumarevs steered the Medusa far ahead of the other ships in the fleet. In addition to this, Chaumarevs conceived the brilliant idea to beach the ferry on a sandbar far from the African coast. Finally Chaumarevs re-thought his brilliant plan. “Well, I guess we should fix this,” Chaudmarevs probably said to the crew who were certainly overjoyed with the situation. Many attempts to free the ship failed, so a makeshift raft was constructed as transport to the shore. Like the captain of the ship, this raft couldn’t do its job. So when a storm begins to hit, the people panic. The few lifeboats are taken and the raft is filled. Seventeen men stay behind on the Medusa as the raft bobs to its doom. Only 15 suvivors are found from the raft. This chaotic tragedy was just what Géricault needed. When one views one of Géricault’s greatest works they can feel the suspense of rescue. Unfortunately, hope doesn’t come for everyone.