from the top of the hill , we could see all the way past the smudgy line of low brick buildings huddled together by the wharves and across the bay to the white-capped islands just off the coast -- little diamond island ; peaks island , with its stiff-necked guard tower -- past the massive patrol boats that trudged through the sleet-gray water on their way to other ports ; all the way to open ocean , distant flashes of it winking and dancing close to the horizon .