nine o'clock in the evening
exclaimed Don Hermoso . `` Come , gentlemen , let us enter the chart-house and draft the message at once , after which I will transcribe it into cipher in readiness to dispatch it upon our arrival at Dover . '' With the exercise of considerable thought and ingenuity a concise rendering of the points suggested by Milsom was at length drafted : and , upon the arrival of the yacht off Dover , Don Hermoso and Singleton went ashore in the steam pinnace and dispatched the message to New York ; after which the yacht 's bows were turned southward again until she had rounded Beachy Head , when Milsom set the course at west by south for the Lizard , from which headland he intended to take his final `` departure '' . It was just nine o'clock in the evening when the _ Thetis _ rounded Beachy Head ; and at noon next day she was abreast of the Lizard and two miles distant from it . `` A splendid ` departure ' ! '' exclaimed Milsom enthusiastically , when he had taken a careful bearing of the headland . `` I now know the ship 's position at noon to-day almost to a foot ; and I was anxious to make a really good departure , for I have worked out a very elaborate and complete system of Great Circle courses from the Lizard to the north - west end of the Little Bahama Bank , which is a spot that must be hit off very accurately if one would avoid disaster .