It seemed a long while before he waved an arm to the watchers behind and swung himself off.

They saw his hands travel along the rope a moment and then he was smothered up in the spume.
One by one the others followed without misadventure save when Han slipped on the deck and would have rolled across and plunged over the further side had he not fortunately caught the iron support of the searchlight in front of the funnel.

Phil was the last to go.

With a final look about the deck as he clung to an awning pipe, he followed Ossie.

The latter was swinging himself hand-over-hand by the rope with the waves surging to his shoulders.