midnight
But not for long ; the sails were speedily lowered down and spread across from gunwale to gunwale to catch the precious moisture , and so heavy was the downpour that in the quarter of an hour during which the shower lasted the voyagers were enabled to almost entirely refill their breakers , the contents of which had by this time very materially diminished . The rain ceased suddenly , and a few minutes afterwards a puff of wind , hot as the breath of a furnace , swept over the boats from the north - east , and passed away , leaving a breathless calm as before . This was repeated twice or thrice ; and then with a heavier puff than before a stiff breeze set in from the north-east , breaking off the boats from their course , and necessitating their hauling close upon a wind on the port tack . By midnight the wind had increased so much that it became necessary to reef ; the launch and pinnace double-reefing their canvas in order that they might not run away from the other boats . The sea now began to rise rapidly , and when day at length broke it revealed a dismal picture of dark tempestuous sky , leaden-grey ocean , its surface broken up into high , racing , foam-capped seas , and the little fleet of boats tossing wildly upon the angry surges , the launch leading , the pinnace next , and the others so far astern that it took Captain Staunton quite ten minutes to satisfy himself that they were all still in sight . It was by this time blowing a moderate gale , and appearances seemed to indicate that downright bad weather was not far off ; the captain decided , therefore , to heave-to at once , as it would be quite impossible in any other way to keep the little fleet together . The canvas on board the launch was accordingly still further reduced , the jib-sheet hauled over to windward , and the boat left to fight it out as best she could .