In the afternoon the classes went afloat, while those who had been in the boats during the morning were told off for instruction on shore. Altogether it was a case of long hours and diligent application, and to their credit the men rose nobly to the occasion. It was a proud day for Derek when for the first time he took his boat across the bar and out to the open sea. His command, from the stern of which the White Ensign floated grandly in the breeze, was a half-decked motor-craft of thirty-five feet in length. The engine was completely under cover, being placed well for'ard. Abaft the half-deck was an open well, fitted with a canvas "dodger", that afforded slight protection from wind and spray. Here were stationed the coxswain and the engineer, while usually the officer in charge would take up his post by the coxswain. Abaft the well was a fairly spacious cock-pit, provided with a folding awning that in heavy weather afforded complete protection from rain and spray. "All out", the boat was capable of doing seventeen knots, although it was customary to run her at only half throttle. "Let go, for'ard! Cast off!" "All clear, sir!" "Easy ahead!" With a gentle motion the motor-boat glided away from the pier on her first run under Lieutenant Derek Daventry's command, then, gathering speed, headed down the buoyed channel towards the distant Bar Buoy, while Derek, with frequent references to a chart, stood by the none-too-competent coxswain. It was no use denying that Derek fully realized his position. His sensations were somewhat akin to those on the occasion of his first solo flight, but with this difference. Then he was responsible for himself alone. If an accident had occurred through his inexperience or error it was he alone who would have suffered. Now he was directly responsible for the safety of five men with practically no experience of the ways of the sea, who looked to him implicitly, took their orders from him, and, in short, placed their lives in his hands. Added to this was the fact that he was answerable for the safety of the boat--a practically brand-new craft that had cost the nation a sum closely approaching £2000. To port and starboard of the narrow channel were dangerous, unobtrusive sandbanks, studded with concealed ledges of rock, their presence indifferently marked by the milk-white rollers that lashed themselves in impotent fury upon the shoals. A slight error of judgment, a wrong turn of the helm, and the frail cockle-shell would almost certainly run aground, and be dashed to pieces in the breakers.