"Fine weather," added Flemming. "The glass is high and steady."
"I hope it will be rough," said Hayes.
"You'll be sorry for yourself if it is," said Woodleigh. "Take my tip and be thankful it is fine. Rough weather is all very fine if you've a sound boat and a sheltered harbour close under your lee. The fellow who puts to sea because it looks like being rough is simply asking for trouble. If you're obliged to that's a different matter."
"But isn't the Olivette a sound boat? And has she ever been out in a storm?" asked Hayes.
"Of course she's a sound boat," declared the Patrol Leader stoutly. "Yes, we've been out in a storm. The starboard window of the wheelhouse—thick plate-glass—was stove in by a wave. We got into port with about a foot of water over the engine-room floor. Yes, I've had some and I'm not asking for any more, thank you."
By this time the Olivette had ported helm and was passing through Hurst Race. Although there was no wind the rush of the west-going tide was very much in evidence. Irregular, crested waves were rearing their heads menacingly within a well-defined area. Everywhere else the sea was as smooth as a mill-pond. "North Channel, Woodleigh?" asked Rayburn, who was at the wheel.
"No, Needles Channel," was the reply. "It will give the others a chance of seeing the western end of The Wight. Close that window, old son, or we'll be getting wet shirts."
"What causes the Race?" asked Jock Findlay.
"Strong tide over uneven ground," explained Woodleigh. "Just here is a deep hole, nearly two hundred feet. It's the greatest depth between the Isle of Wight and the mainland, although this is the shortest distance between. The tide has to tumble through the neck of a bottle, as it were, and in the process it gets a bit angry."
Totland Bay was soon abeam, then the Southend Sea Scouts feasted their eyes upon the multi-coloured cliffs of Alum Bay, until their attention was attracted by the Needles and the outlying lighthouse, backed by the towering cliffs of glistening chalk that form the western extremity of the Isle of Wight.