five o'clock in the evening
The night of the 12th was a wretched one in some respects for our purpose . The weather was thick ; a strong breeze was blowing from the southward , kicking up a nasty sea ; it was bitterly cold ; and a thin drizzle of fine snow made the thick atmosphere still thicker ; so that it was impossible to see farther than a ship 's length in any direction . I foresaw , therefore , that I had a very difficult task before me , not only in getting the little torpedo-boats across in the heavy sea , but in depositing the mines in the right place after we should arrive . To spare the torpedo-boats as much as possible while making the passage against a heavy head sea , I decided to proceed at a speed of ten knots ; and we accordingly got under way at five o'clock in the evening , leaving ourselves an hour in hand to cover any delay which we might meet with . I had very carefully studied the tides and the current charts during the afternoon , taken careful note of the strength of the wind , and , taking these matters into consideration , had worked out a course that , unless some of the conditions changed , should take me to the exact spot I wished to reach , at eleven o'clock . Punctual to the moment we started , `` in line ahead , '' each vessel towing a fog buoy behind her to serve as a guide to the next astern , and these buoys I had at the last moment caused to be coated with luminous paint , to make them visible in the intense darkness . All went well with us ; the destroyers rode the seas like gulls , while , at the moderate speed of ten knots , the torpedo-boats were not only able to keep station perfectly but also avoided washing their crews overboard .