Cummins had an idea to turn the longboat into a kind of ark that would be large and sturdy enough to get them off the island. Cheap had been brooding since Cozens' death, but he now threw his support behind Cummins' intentions.

Cummins, however, needed his assistants, and James Mitchell and William Oram were among the seceders. Bulkeley and the other man set out to try to convince at least one of them to return. Oram agreed and went to work with Cummins.

Many of the men in camp worked hard to remodel the boat, and they did it all while malnourished and weak. Cheap had a plan for that boat. He was going to take his company to the designated meeting place to look for Anson. Then they would continue their mission. He told no one of this.

Bulkeley, too, had a plan. He asked Byron to borrow a book by John Narborough so that he could find navigation clues. Bulkeley wanted to take the ark through the Strait of Magellan, an alternative passage to Cape Horn, and head up to Brazil and then back to England. It would be a “mad undertaking,” but to Bulkeley, it seemed the only way to ever get home, the only way to survive.

Bulkeley told a few other men about his plan, and Cheap eventually revealed his own plan. The camp was soon “split into two rival forces.” Byron wanted to be neutral, and he understood the deep issues of “leadership, loyalty, betrayal, courage, and patriotism” involved. He wanted to do his duty to Cheap, but he thought Bulkeley was a more appealing leader.

Bulkeley gave Cheap a paper outlining his plan. It was signed by most of the men. Cheap said he would consider the idea. A couple of days later, Cheap called Bulkeley and Cummins to him. He argued against the Strait of Magellan idea and presented his dreams of heading up toward the meeting place near Chiloe and even capturing a trading vessel. Bulkeley and Cummins thought that impractical, and Cummins even accused the captain of being the reason they were stuck on the island. Cheap and Bulkeley were soon leading armed factions, and tensions continued to rise.