noon
But luck seemed to be against us , for we sighted nothing but craft flying the British flag , and most of those were men-o ' - war . At length , however , the skipper grew disgusted , and determined to see whether better fortune awaited us farther afield . Accordingly , having sighted Ushant broad on the lee-bow , and some ten miles distant , at eight o'clock on a certain morning , with the wind out at about North-West , we stood on until we had brought the island well over our lee quarter , when the helm was shifted , the ship kept away a couple of points , a small pull taken upon the weather braces , and away we went booming into the Bay of Biscay , heading toward Cape Finisterre . We had experienced fresh breezes , but fine , clear weather , from the moment when we had left the Isle of Wight astern ; but on this particular day , shortly after noon , the sky became overcast and gloomy , with a thick , murky appearance to windward that portended a change for the worse . This , however , did not greatly trouble us , for with Ushant out of sight astern , the ship heading South-West by compass , and the wind two points free , we had nothing to fear beyond such discomfort as was inseparable from the heavy sea that was now fast getting up . As the day wore on , however , the mercury began to drop rather rapidly ; the thickness to windward increased , and it began to rain ; the wind freshened steadily , a high , steep sea got up , and everything appeared to threaten a particularly dirty and unpleasant night . By the end of the first dog-watch the wind had increased to half a gale , the sea had drawn abeam , and the ship was rolling her lee hammock-rails under .