About eight o'clock
It was bad enough having no one to speak to all day , but at night they felt that companionship was absolutely needed . During the day they had lashed together the spars , sail , and the barrel of water -- which was now nearly half empty -- so that if the boat should be swamped , they could cling to this support . It was a terrible night but , towards morning , both were of opinion that the gale was somewhat abating . About eight o'clock there were breaks in the clouds and , by noon , the sun was shining brightly . The wind was still blowing strong , but nothing to what it had been the evening before and , by nightfall , the sea was beginning to go down . The waves were as high as before , but were no longer broken and crested with heads of foam and , at ten o'clock , they felt that they could both safely lie down till morning . The steering oar was lashed in its position , the sail spread over the whole of the stern of the boat , every drop of water was baled out and , lying down side by side , they were soon fast asleep .