about noon
Fortunately the weather was ideal . It is true that headwinds blew mildly and insistently , causing some bumpiness , but the night was calm and starry , and with the engine running close to full-out , they saw that they were making up lost time very fast . When morning broke , and Paul took the throttle , fair skies looked down upon their skimming bird , and the sea was bathed in brilliant sunshine . Bob wirelessed Sydney their position about noon . He made no attempt to get Apia , because he knew there was no telegraph or radio station there . Flying low , early in the afternoon they passed close enough to the Vanikord islands to see hordes of natives watching them from the coral shores . Numerous smaller islets , gems set in the ultramarine blue of the sea , were also passed within the next hour .