twenty minutes past four
Before the operation was commenced , Curtis took the precaution of having an anchor ready in the stern , for , in the event of the attempt being unsuccessful , it would be necessary to bring the ship back to her present moorings . Two more anchors were next carried outside the passage , which was not more than two hundred feet in length . The chains were attached to the windlass , the sailors worked away at the handspikes , and at four o'clock in the afternoon the `` Chancellor '' was in motion . High tide would be at twenty minutes past four , and at ten minutes before that time the ship had been hauled as far as her sea-range would allow ; her keel grazed the ridge , and her progress was arrested . When the lowest part of her stern , however , just cleared the obstruction , Curtis deemed that there was no longer any reason why the mechanical action of the wind should not be brought to bear and contribute its assistance . Without delay , all sails were unfurled and trimmed to the wind . The tide was exactly at its height , passengers and crew together were at the windlass , M. Letourneur , Andre , Falsten , and myself being at the starboard bar .