about midnight
Dr. Christobal 's dismal foreboding had been justified on the second day out . Leaden clouds , a sullen sea , and occasional puffs of a stinging breeze from the southwest , offered a sorry exchange for the sunny skies of Chile . Though the _ Kansas _ was not a fast ship , she could have made the entrance to the Straits on the evening of the fourth day were not Captain Courtenay wishful to navigate the most dangerous part of the narrows by daylight . His intent , therefore , was to pick up the Evangelistas light about midnight , and then crack ahead at fourteen knots , so as to be off Felix Point on Desolation Island by dawn . This was not only a prudent and seamanlike course but it would conduce to the comfort of the passengers . The ship was now running into a stiff gale . Each hour the sea became heavier , and even the eight thousand tons of the _ Kansas _ felt the impact of the giant rollers on her starboard bow .