morning, noon
However , I did not see what advantage was to be gained by remaining where I was , so I fixed from the stern a couple of long sweeps , or steering oars , twenty-six feet long , and made them answer the purpose of a rudder . These arrangements occupied me two or three days , and then , when everything was completed to my satisfaction , and the ship was in sailing trim , I gave the _ Veielland _ her freedom . This I managed as follows : The moment the chain was at its tautest -- at its greatest tension -- I gave it a violent blow with a big axe , and it parted . I steered due west , taking my observations by the sun and my own shadow at morning , noon , and evening . For I had been taught to reckon the degree of latitude from the number of inches of my shadow . After a time I altered my course to west by south , hoping that I might come upon one of the islands of the Dutch Indies , -- Timorland , for instance , but day after day passed without land coming in sight . Imagine the situation , if you can : alone on a disabled ship in the limitless ocean , -- tortured with doubts and fears about the fate of my comrades , and filled with horror and despair at my own miserable prospects for the future .