On Easter Tuesday, Neumann left Paris and arrived in Le Havre shortly after noon, April 7, 1836. It was the first time in his life that he had seen the ocean. Neumann chose to sail on the largest vessel sailing out of Le Havre, a 210-foot three-master with a sixty-foot beam named the "Europa", because it seemed less crowded with passengers than other ships. It took Neumann four days to get aboard, which he spent praying in the parish church, reading St. Francis de Sales' "Introduction to the Devout Life", and practicing his English and French with the locals. The voyage lasted forty days. Neumann was seasick for three days but felt better afterward. For three more days, the ship was becalmed and made no progress; when the boat came within sight of icebergs off the banks of Newfoundland, Neumann was chilled by the thought of what might happen if the ship should crash into one of them.