How happens to the captain? Explain this: he [the captain] had looked on, day by day, at the mishandling of poor Ransome; but when it came to the brig, he seemed to suffer along with her.” From chapters 13-16

Captain Hoseason is loosing his ship the Covenant. As it hits the rocks he feels his prized ship being taken away from him. This is part of a greater theme in the novel: the idea that possessions are so easily taken away from us.