in any event, captain lynnsey and his hannah sought to evade the gaspi. gunshots were fired and the hannah fled north up the bay with the gaspi chasing behind in pursuit. outsized and outgunned, captain lynnsey drew confidence from his familiarity with rhode island waters. he led the gaspi in the shallower waters off a point where the smaller hannah cruised safely over the sand banks. the heavier gaspi ran aground and stuck. the gaspi was stranded in a falling tide and it would be many hours before high tide would lift her free. arriving triumphantly in providence, captain lynnsey visited john brown whose family helped found brown university. the two men rallied a group of patriots at saban's tavern in what is now the east side of providence. the gaspi was despised by rhode islanders who had been too often bullied in their own waters by the ship and the stranding of this once-powerful vessel presented an irresistible chance. on that dark night, 60 men in longboats, led by captain lynnsey and another great figure from rhode island revolutionary history, ab