The subject was wholly new to him, and therefore, as was his custom, he began to investigate it in all its bearings before he took any decisive step. One of the earliest conclusions at which he arrived was, that the new lighthouse ought to be built of stone, as the most durable and the safest material. He came to this decision from a careful examination of the plans and models of the two former lighthouses, which showed him that their leading defect was want of weight; of weight sufficient not only to resist the sea, but to compel the sea to yield to the building, so that it might neither rock in the winds nor tremble before the waves. [Sidenote: A visit to the rock.] As soon as he had made up his mind as to the principles on which the lighthouse should be constructed, he paid a visit to its intended site. He arrived at Plymouth about the end of March, but it was the 2nd of April before he could embark for the Eddystone, owing to the violence of the wind and the heavy sea that was running in the Channel. On reaching the rock, the billows beat upon it with so much fury that it was impossible to land. All that Smeaton could do was to view the rocky cone--"the mere crest of the mountain whose base was laid so far down in the sea-deeps beneath--over which the waves were lashing, and to form a more adequate idea of the very narrow as well as turbulent site on which he was expected to erect his building." Three days later, however, he ventured on a second trip, when he succeeded in landing on the rock, and thoroughly examining it. The only traces he could find of the lighthouses erected by his predecessors were the iron branches fixed by Rudyerd, and remains of those fixed by Winstanley. On a third voyage to the rock, Smeaton was baffled by the wind, which compelled him to return to harbour without even obtaining a sight of it. After five more days, during which the engineer was employed in looking out a proper site for a work-yard, and examining the granite in the neighbourhood for the purposes of the building, he made a fourth voyage, and although the vessel reached the rock, the wind blew so freshly and the breakers dashed so furiously that it was again found impossible to land. He could only direct the boat to lie off and on, while he watched the breaking of the sea and its action on the reef. A fifth trial, after the lapse of a week, proved equally unsuccessful. After rowing about all day with the wind ahead, the party found themselves at night about four miles from the Eddystone, near which they anchored until morning; but a storm of wind and rain arising, they were compelled to return to Plymouth without succeeding in their object. [Sidenote: Try, try, and try again.] The sixth attempt--we record these minute particulars because they give such a vivid illustration of Smeaton's persevering energy--was successful, and on the 22nd of April, after the lapse of seventeen days, Mr. Smeaton landed a second time.