which hid its verdant sides; and ere the sun had dried the heavy night

This substantially widens the range of surface conditions and speed the craft is operable, such as uneven ground, choppy water surfaces, snow, and ice.

We were drifting together, all driven towards the coast, lying about 180 nautical miles away, by 1.5 to 2 knots of favorable current, in a driving trade wind blowing at around 25 knots, on a chaotic, disorderly sea.