one minute after midnight
The storm will find us wherever we are , and there 's more danger close ashore than out at sea . Let 's make a tour of the _ Mamise _ and see how soon she 'll be ready to go overboard . '' Nicky Easton 's attempt to assassinate the ship had failed , but the wounds he dealt her had retarded her so that she missed by many weeks the chance of being launched on the Fourth of July with the other ships that made the Big Splash on that holy day . The first boat took her dive at one minute after midnight and eighty-one ships followed her into the astonished sea . While the damaged parts of the _ Mamise _ were remade , Davidge pushed the work on other portions of the ship 's anatomy , so that when at length she was ready for the dip she was farther advanced than steel ships usually are before they are first let into the sea . Her upper works were well along , her funnel was in , and her mast and bridge . She looked from a distance like a ship that had run ashore .