noon
Soon the principal island stood out from the rocky mass , at the summit of a triangle inclining toward the northeast . Tristan d'Acunha is situated in 37 degrees 8 ' of southern latitude , and 10 degrees 44 ' of longitude west of the meridian at Greenwich . Inaccessible Island is eighteen miles to the southwest and Nightingale Island is ten miles to the southeast , and this completes the little solitary group of islets in the Atlantic Ocean . Toward noon , the two principal landmarks , by which the group is recognized were sighted , and at 3 P. M. the DUNCAN entered Falmouth Bay in Tristan d'Acunha . Several whaling vessels were lying quietly at anchor there , for the coast abounds in seals and other marine animals . John Mangle 's first care was to find good anchorage , and then all the passengers , both ladies and gentlemen , got into the long boat and were rowed ashore . They stepped out on a beach covered with fine black sand , the impalpable DEBRIS of the calcined rocks of the island .