twelve o'clock
While considering the important question of a proper supply of food , the pertinent fact was not lost sight of , that they would be exposed to a climate of almost arctic severity for , probably , many months to come ; and , consequently all the blankets in the ship were collected and put on board the raft , besides spare bedding and some hammocks . Snowball also , true to his culinary calling , took care to secure his cooking utensils , clambering back into the dilapidated forecastle for the purpose , almost at the peril of his life -- the darkey subsequently bewailing much his inability to remove the ship 's coppers , which were too firmly fixed in the galley for him to detach them from that structure . Finally , one or two small spars and sails were added to the general pile of heterogeneous articles that had been heaped up in the centre of the raft , whose buoyancy had been much increased , since it was first made and launched overboard , by the accidental discovery in the steerage of some empty puncheons , which were carefully bunged-up so that no water could get into them and lashed underneath the floating platform ; the catalogue of stores being then completed by heaving on the heap all the cordage that could be got at and cut away , in addition to some blocks and a few odds and ends -- the tarpaulin from off the broken cabin skylight , which was certain to be of the greatest use , being , like other equally serviceable articles , only thought of at the last moment . By the time all these things were stowed on board , and the raft immersed as deeply as it was considered advisable with safety -- as few things as possible being put in the jolly-boat , which was kept light in order that she might be more usefully employed in towing the other -- it was close on twelve o'clock . This was the hour Mr Meldrum had fixed for abandoning the ship , as then the tide would be at the half flood , and they would be able to utilise not only that but the current as well , which would about that time set inshore -- at least , judging by its influence on the previous day in carrying the _ Nancy Bell _ in that direction of the reef . By these various means Mr Meldrum thought the raft might be floated onward towards the curve in the coast-line which he had pointed out to the first mate as a probable place where they might expect to discover some small bay or harbour to land at . Besides this , Mr Meldrum believed that by starting on the half tide , in the event of the stream turning before they were able to reach an available beach in some sheltered cave -- for the current which he had noticed took a southerly direction with the ebb -- the retiring tide could not possibly drift them out to sea .