noon
It was on this oceanic river that the Nautilus was then navigating . Leaving Old Bahama Channel , which is fourteen leagues wide by 350 meters deep , the Gulf Stream moves at the rate of eight kilometers per hour . Its speed steadily decreases as it advances northward , and we must pray that this steadiness continues , because , as experts agree , if its speed and direction were to change , the climates of Europe would undergo disturbances whose consequences are incalculable . Near noon I was on the platform with Conseil . I shared with him the relevant details on the Gulf Stream . When my explanation was over , I invited him to dip his hands into its current . Conseil did so , and he was quite astonished to experience no sensation of either hot or cold .