midnight
When the first excitement of his danger passed he was assailed by the fierce hunger of nervous and physical exhaustion , but there was no food aboard the dory . He had , of course , the breaker of water that was part of his regular equipment ; but this was more for use during a long day of fishing than for the emergency of being lost at sea . He took a hearty drink and prepared for the long watch of the night . By a wax match several hours later he found that it was midnight . His struggle with wind and sea had now become unequal . He found it impractical to remain longer in the stern attempting to scull . So very cautiously he set about his last defensive measure .