To be capable of handling a boat under sail is, of course, a very necessary qualification for a naval officer, and most of it is done by midshipmen. The ordinary rig of a Service cutter is what is known as a "dipping lug," _i.e._ a lug sail which has to be shifted to the other side of the mast whenever the boat goes about; and as a cutter may be required to use oars or sails at very short notice, it is undoubtedly the best adapted for the purpose. A smart boat's crew will have the masts up and sail on the boat in a very few minutes. It is, however, somewhat cumbrous to work, and has no special value in regard to the general principles which govern boat-sailing. In order, therefore, to afford the cadets every opportunity of acquiring skill and readiness at the helm, a number of small cutter-rigged vessels--a ship's cutter _not_ being "cutter" rigged--were provided in 1867, with simple sails and fittings, so that three or four cadets could, by permission, take one out on a free afternoon and sail about the harbour, thereby gaining the practical experience, combined with due responsibility, without which neither boat-sailing nor any other art may be adequately mastered. The cadets have to hoist the sails, seeing that they are properly set, according to certain immutable laws; to get the boat cleverly away from her moorings without getting foul of anything, to run, beat, or reach, as occasion may require; and finally to pick up the moorings again in a seamanlike fashion, this last being certainly the crucial test of the coxswain's ability. These little vessels have answered their purpose admirably, and are frequently in such request that there is quite a struggle to get the use of one for the afternoon. Many of the lads become very proficient boat-sailers, and an occasional mishap is not severely visited, but taken advantage of to explain what ought to have been done. A properly fitted gymnasium is, of course, regarded as a necessity at any modern school, and the _Britannia_ has been by no means behind the times in this respect, all the various exercises being taught by an efficient instructor, including fancy acrobatic displays such as the "living tower," etc. The closing years of the 'sixties are marked by two important innovations: the institution of a _bonâ fide_ sea-going training-ship for the cadets, and the introduction of a competitive entry examination. In February, 1868, the _Bristol_, a fine steam frigate, recently paid off as commodore's ship on the coast of Africa, was recommissioned as a sea-going training-ship for cadets, in which they were to spend one year after leaving the _Britannia_, the period of training in the latter being at this time one year, making the maximum time of probation two years.