twelve o'clock at night
The weather was still clear and the wind light : they proceeded cautiously , on account of the reefs and currents , and with a careful watch for the piratical vessels , which have for centuries infested those seas ; but they were not molested , and had gained well up among the islands to the north of Galago , when it fell calm , and the vessel was borne to the eastward of it by the current . The calm lasted several days , and they could procure no anchorage ; at last they found themselves among the cluster of islands near to the northern coast of New Guinea . The anchor was dropped , and the sails furled for the night ; a drizzling small rain came on , the weather was thick , and watches were stationed in every part of the ship , that they might not be surprised by the pirate proas , for the current ran past the ship , at the rate of eight or nine miles per hour , and these vessels , if hid among the islands , might sweep down upon them unperceived . It was twelve o'clock at night when Philip , who was in bed , was awakened by a shock ; he thought it might be a proa running alongside , and he started from his bed and ran out . He found Krantz , who had been awakened by the same cause , running up undressed -- another shock succeeded , and the ship careened to port . Philip then knew that the ship was on shore . The thickness of the night prevented them from ascertaining where they were , but the lead was thrown over the side , and they found that they were lying on shore on a sand bank , with not more than fourteen feet water on the deepest side , and that they were broadside on , with a strong current pressing them further up on the bank ; indeed the current ran like a mill-race , and each minute they were swept into shallower water .