On receipt of the first signal from the Andes, the Calliope, Comus and Blanche had been ordered to the scene at full speed. The Comus, Captain Alan G. Hotham, R.N., the nearest vessel, with the destroyer Munster, arrived on the spot Lat. 61.48 N., Long. 1.40 E., as the Alcantara was sinking. The Munster picked up the crew of the Alcantara, and as the enemy raider still had colours flying the Comus proceeded to sink her by gunfire and to pick up the survivors in her boats. The Calliope and Magic arrived at 1 P.M., but, not being required, returned to their patrol line. The enemy vessel turned out to be the disguised raider Grief, armed with four 5.9-inch guns and two torpedo tubes; she had a complement of 306, of whom 209, including many wounded, were rescued by the Comus and Andes.
The incident showed the great difficulty of carrying out blockade work under modern conditions when dealing with an unscrupulous enemy. A raider disguised as a neutral, and armed with torpedo tubes, is a most difficult customer to deal with, and every neutral vessel had perforce to be treated as “suspect” after an incident of this nature. It is not possible to examine a vessel without boarding her, and, except in very fine weather, it is necessary for the boarding ship to be close to the suspected ship before lowering her boat, as the latter obviously cannot pull long distances. The experience of the Alcantara showed the danger of closing the ship to be boarded. An attempt to solve the problem was made by informing all neutrals that, when any of our vessels displayed a certain signal, the ship to be boarded should steam towards the boarding boat, this boat being lowered some distance away. But, in order to carry this into effect, we were obviously dependent to a large extent on the co-operation of neutrals, which was not always in evidence.
Modern blockade work undoubtedly bristles with difficulties which did not exist in the days of our forefathers, not the least being the advent of the torpedo and the submarine. The German method of solving such difficulties was to sink vessels at sight, but such methods did not, and never will, appeal to the British mind, or to the mind of any seaman belonging to the Allied nations.
During February, 1916, the somewhat shorter nights, combined with more favourable weather, gave the 10th Cruiser Squadron better opportunities for the blockade, and the average weekly results were: Number of ships intercepted, 39; number sent in, 111; number of ships on patrol, 12; number absent at ports or en route to or from patrol, 9; number detached on special service, 1.
Gales were experienced at Scapa or in the neighbourhood on February 6th, 7th, 8th, 12th, 14th. The usual exchange of bases for practices and the independent squadron exercises at sea from the bases were carried out during the month.
On March 1st a party of distinguished Russian gentlemen visited the Fleet at Scapa Flow, leaving again in the evening. The party included M. Danchenko, Count Alexis Tolstoy, M. Vladimir Nabakoff, M. Bashmakoff, M. Yegoroff and M. Chukovsky.
On March 2nd the new battleship Valiant, a vessel of the “Queen Elizabeth” class, arrived at Scapa and joined the 5th Battle Squadron.
Submarine D7 was despatched on March 5th to the Kattegat to intercept trade and to ascertain the situation there on the chance of any enemy vessels being found. She did not sight any enemy craft. On the same day the 3rd Battle Squadron left Rosyth for a watching and exercise cruise in the centre portion of the North Sea. On the 6th the remainder of the Grand Fleet proceeded into the North Sea for a southerly sweep, concentration being ordered to take place in the vicinity of the “Long Forties,” the centre of that area being in Lat. 57.20 N. on the meridian of Greenwich. The weather, however, became very unfavourable for destroyers, and speed had eventually to be reduced to such an extent that the sweep was abandoned, and the Fleet returned to its bases on the 7th.
On March 9th a patrol consisting of one cruiser and one armed boarding-steamer was instituted in an area north of the Shetlands. It was designed to cover the track of vessels en route between the north of Iceland and a point on the Norwegian coast in the vicinity of Stadlandet (Lat. 62.10 N., Long. 5.10 E.), as it was considered probable that this route might be taken by enemy raiders as well as by vessels attempting to evade the blockade. The patrol was continued throughout the year, although occasionally modified in details and frequently doubled in strength. It was eventually successful in intercepting and sinking the German raider Wolf, in the spring of 1917, the Achilles (Captain F. M. Leake, R.N.) and the armed boarding-steamer Dundee (Commander Selwyn Day, R.N.R.) being the vessels engaged in this operation. This patrol was also of use for blockade work.
On March 11th the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron, with a division of destroyers of the 1st Flotilla, left Rosyth at 7.30 A.M. for operations off the Norwegian coast, the objective being the capture of any enemy merchant-ships found outside territorial waters between Ekersund and the Naze. It had been ascertained that some of the German merchant-ships engaged in trade with Norwegian ports, and especially Narvik, occasionally ventured outside territorial waters in this locality. It was the only locality, besides the vicinity of Stadlandet, in which they did so venture, and in which, therefore, there was a chance of capturing them. The remainder of the Battle Cruiser Fleet sailed later, on the 11th, for a position to the southward of the Naze for supporting purposes. It was also intended that the remainder of the Grand Fleet should be cruising in the neighbourhood. But an easterly gale sprang up, which prevented the destroyers from accompanying the Battle Fleet, and this portion of the programme was cancelled; Sir David Beatty was informed that, if the weather conditions farther south prevented his destroyers from screening the battle cruisers, the latter should return to their base and a light cruiser squadron be left to support the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron. The conditions being unfavourable for destroyers, this course was adopted. The weather eventually became too bad for the light cruiser squadrons to maintain their speed, and the sweep, which was unproductive, was curtailed.