11 o’clock in the
morning
The navigation of the Mozambique Channel was especially calm and pleasant . The agreeable character of the trip by sea was regarded as a good omen of the probable issue of the trip through the air . Every one looked forward to the hour of arrival , and sought to give the last touch to the doctor 's preparations . At length the vessel hove in sight of the town of Zanzibar , upon the island of the same name , and , on the 15th of April , at 11 o'clock in the morning , she anchored in the port . The island of Zanzibar belongs to the Imaum of Muscat , an ally of France and England , and is , undoubtedly , his finest settlement . The port is frequented by a great many vessels from the neighboring countries . The island is separated from the African coast only by a channel , the greatest width of which is but thirty miles .