eight o'clock
We sailed again from Spithead on the fourth day after our arrival , and nothing of importance occurred for quite a fortnight , during which we were kicking about in the chops of the Channel , keeping a bright lookout all the while for anything that might chance to come in our way , whether in the shape of captured British merchantmen , privateers , French merchantmen , or otherwise . 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 .