On 10th February 1816 the first two ships built for the Royal Navy in the Dockyard were launched. They were the 28 gun frigates, Ariadne (which became the last command of Captain Frederick Marryat, who wrote Mr Midshipman Easy) and Valorous. Shipbuilding and launching at that time were carried out in the open air. Conditions for the workers were not good, often they would be standing in deep water and mud, and there was nothing to protect them from the weather.