The sea was lumpy and disgruntled. The sky was painted in freakish colors, a dull coppery glow beneath a purple scudding murk. Gale-force gusts blew streaks of spindrift off the wave crests. At 2:37 p.m., noted the fleet diary, “the seas were getting heavy and the winds were now 40 knots from 020.” Halsey suspended fueling and fixed a new fueling rendezvous for 6:00 a.m. the next morning, 200 miles to the northwest. Many ships found it difficult to keep station, and Halsey approved Admiral McCain’s request to slow the task force from 17 to 15 knots and cease zigzagging.
