midnight
At the usual hour of the previous night , the people of the Niña had assembled to chant the _ salve fac _ , _ regina _ , or the evening hymn to the Virgin , for it is one of the touching incidents of this extraordinary voyage , that these rude sailors first carried with them into the unknown wastes of the Atlantic the songs of their religion , and the Christian 's prayers . While thus employed , a light had been made to leeward , which was supposed to be on the island first seen , thus encouraging the admiral in his belief that he was in the centre of a group , and that by keeping well to windward , he would certainly find himself in a situation to reach a port in the morning . That morning , however , had produced no other change than the one noted , and he was now preparing to pass another night , or that of the 17th , in uncertainty , when the cry of land ahead suddenly cheered the spirits of all in the vessel . The Niña stood boldly in , and before midnight she was near enough to the shore to let go an anchor ; so heavy were both wind and sea , however , that the cable parted , thus rejecting them , as it were , from the regions to which they properly belonged . Sail was made , and the effort to get to windward renewed , and by daylight the caravel was enabled to run in and get an anchorage on the north side of the island . Here the wearied and almost exhausted mariners learned that Columbus was right , as usual , and that they had reached the island of St. Mary , one of the Azores . It does not belong to this tale to record all the incidents that occurred while the Niña lay at this port .