fifteen minutes before noon
It 's the most tranquil of the seas ; its currents are wide and slow-moving , its tides moderate , its rainfall abundant . And this was the ocean that I was first destined to cross under these strangest of auspices . `` If you do n't mind , professor , '' Captain Nemo told me , `` we 'll determine our exact position and fix the starting point of our voyage . It 's fifteen minutes before noon . I 'm going to rise to the surface of the water . '' The captain pressed an electric bell three times . The pumps began to expel water from the ballast tanks ; on the pressure gauge , a needle marked the decreasing pressures that indicated the Nautilus 's upward progress ; then the needle stopped .