ten o’clock
The tide turned at seven this morning , and by eleven all the rocks were submerged , none of them being visible except the cluster of those which formed the rim of a small and almost circular basin from 250 to 300 feet in diameter , in the north angle of which the ship is lying . As the tide rose the white breakers disappeared , and the sea , fortunately for the `` Chancellor , '' was pretty calm ; otherwise the dashing of the waves against her sides , as she lies motionless , might have been attended by serious consequences . As might be supposed , the height of the water in the hold increased with the tide from five feet to nine ; but this was rather a matter for congratulation , inasmuch as it sufficed to inundate another layer of cotton . At half-past eleven the sun , which had been behind the clouds since ten o'clock , broke forth brightly . The captain , who had already in the morning been able to calculate an horary angle , now prepared to take the meridian altitude , and succeeded at midday in making his observation most satisfactorily . After retiring for a short time to calculate the result ; he returned to the poop and announced that we are in lat ; 18deg . 5 min .