Next day excitement ran high, for a rumour reached us that the great German liner, _Vaterland_, was going to try and rush the Channel under escort of five cruisers; but she never came; and after five days’ patrolling the whole fleet reassembled, and forming divisions in line ahead, steamed into Portland, arriving there in the evening. We started coaling at 6 o’clock the following morning and finished just before breakfast. In the afternoon when I was on watch the officer of the watch sent me away in the picket boat with dispatches to _H.M.S. “——.”_ It was the first time I had been in command of one of these steamboats, so, thinking discretion the better part of valour, I didn’t try to steer her alongside, but just took the wheel in the open and let my cox’un do the rest. The whole of our squadron weighed anchor next day and put to sea for sub-calibre firing just outside the harbour. Sub-calibre firing is done by shipping a small gun (which fires a shell filled with salt) inside the bore of the big turret and battery guns. This necessitates the training and laying of the big guns to fire the small guns inside them, and gives practice to the gun layers and trainers without wasting the large shells and charges, which cost a considerable amount of money. We spent the whole of that morning in the Fore T.S. working out the ranges and deflections received by telephone from the control position, and passing these through to the gunners to set the sights by. After lunch it was assumed that the control position was shot away and the guns went into local control. This means that the officer of each group of guns, and of each turret, fires at his own discretion, and corrects the range and deflection after watching through his glasses the fall of the shells. When the Fore T.S. staff receives the order to go to local control, or can get no reply from the main control which is presumably damaged, they pass through the telephones to the guns the message “local control.” Then they hurry up the hatch from the Fore T.S. to the ammunition passages above, their range clocks slung round their necks, and are hoisted up the ammunition hoist to the particular group of guns to which they have been stationed in the event of this emergency. Firing practice over we returned to harbour and anchored, and the following afternoon those of us who were not on duty were allowed to go ashore on three hours’ leave. Next morning the squadron received a signal ordering all ships to complete with coal immediately, and to proceed to sea without delay. By 4 o’clock all had weighed and left harbour, forming into line in sequence of fleet numbers as they cleared the boom.