midnight
A red haze now began to shroud the sun , the heat of the air became almost stifling , but the muffled roar of distant thunder and bright flashes of light warned the voyagers to prepare for a change . Willis reefed the canvas close to the mast , and suggested that everything likely to spoil should be put under hatches . This was scarcely done before the storm had reached them , and they were soon in the midst of a tropical deluge . At first , a light breeze sprung up , blowing towards the south-east , which continued till midnight , when it chopped round . Towards morning , it blew a heavy gale from east to east-south-east , with a heavy sea running . In the meantime , the pinnace labored heavily , and several seas broke over her . Willis now saw that their only chance of safety lay in altering their course .