midday
Her new main-topsail and brand new spencer were blown away like tissue paper ; and five sails , furled and fast under double gaskets , were blown loose and stripped from the yards . And before morning the _ Mary Rogers _ was hove down twice again , and holes were knocked in her bulwarks to ease her decks from the weight of ocean that pressed her down . On an average of once a week Captain Dan Cullen caught glimpses of the sun . Once , for ten minutes , the sun shone at midday , and ten minutes afterward a new gale was piping up , both watches were shortening sail , and all was buried in the obscurity of a driving snow-squall . For a fortnight , once , Captain Dan Cullen was without a meridian or a chronometer sight . Rarely did he know his position within half a degree , except when in sight of land ; for sun and stars remained hidden behind the sky , and it was so gloomy that even at the best the horizons were poor for accurate observations . A gray gloom shrouded the world .