9 a.m.
Still J.T. Maston would not hear about leaving . He would not abandon the place without having at least found the tomb of his friends . But Captain Blomsberry could not stay on obstinately , and notwithstanding the opposition of the worthy secretary , he was obliged to give orders to set sail . On the 29th of December , at 9 a.m. , the Susquehanna , heading north-east , began to return to the bay of San Francisco . It was 10 a.m. . The corvette was leaving slowly and as if with regret the scene of the catastrophe , when the sailor at the masthead , who was on the look-out , called out all at once -- `` A buoy on the lee bow ! '' The officers looked in the direction indicated .