about midnight
She had no pilot , none being necessary , or usual , in those waters ; all that a vessel had to do being to give Long Island a sufficient berth in rounding its eastern extremity . The boat was soon shut in by Gardiner 's Island , and thenceforth nothing remained but the ties of feeling to connect those bold adventurers with their native country . It is true that Connecticut , and subsequently Rhode Island , was yet visible on one hand , and a small portion of New York on the other ; but as darkness came to close the scene , even that means of communication was soon virtually cut off . The light on Montauk , for hours , was the sole beacon for these bold mariners , who rounded it about midnight , fairly meeting the long , rolling swell of the broad Atlantic . Then the craft might be said to be at sea for the first time . The Sea Lion was found to perform well . She had been constructed with an eye to comfort , as well as to sailing , and possessed that just proportion in her hull which carried her over the surface of the waves like a duck .