Avoids a Sentry Boat
“About 1 a.m.—We have reached the edge of the opening, always sticking close to the jetty, which now slopes down to the opening and is guarded by a small gun (of about fifty millimeters), which is silhouetted against the sky as we pass under it at a distance of about five meters.
“A strong current coming from the interior of the roadstead meets the current flowing along the coast and drives us—despite all our efforts—out to sea in the direction of the northern extremity of the jetty. The motor is started into full action and we manage to make a wide loop toward the left, returning to the small opening.
“Here, too, we find an obstruction formed by several sections of floating beams, joined with wire ropes. Here and there points project above the water. Having satisfied ourselves that the obstruction has no submerged nets, we decide to climb over it while passing our apparatus underneath, and the plan is carried out without accident. We follow the inner side of this obstruction back to the jetty—easily recognized by the cannon and sentry-post which we had already seen from the other side. Still creeping along the jetty for a few meters, we find ourselves near the bow of a tug, moored there, and can hear the hissing noise of a jet of steam. A little further off, stern toward the jetty, is a large boat that guards the port. This is indicated on our chart, so we decide to turn toward the inner harbor.
“About 2 a.m.—We reach the third obstruction, which runs parallel to the jetty, without encountering that running from the jetty on the right of the guard boat to the large opening of the port. The obstruction now to be overcome is made up of a row of metal cylinders, with tops projecting about twenty centimeters above the water, supporting, about sixty centimeters below the water level, a metal cable to which a net is attached. Given the distance between buoys, and the depth at which the net begins, it is easy to pass this barrier. About ten meters behind it is a second, and then a third, all parallel and of the same type. These are passed without real difficulty, though we have lost time between the second and third series. A boat was moored not more than thirty meters from us, and we had to move with extreme caution and very slowly.
“It is easy to know where we are. Ahead and to our left, I can recognize Valmaggiore and the rocky mass near the curve toward the interior of the port. We consult the pocket compass, but it is full of water and will not work. Once past the third section of this obstruction, I steer in an oblique line to the right, the direction in which I believe we shall find the last series of obstructions—those projecting from the north coast and running perpendicular to the jetty.
“The first big ships—dark, shadowy forms—are barely visible on our right. Going forward, we can see three other ships, further in, that show lighted cabins and portholes, and that have white deck-lights.