seven miles from Pozzallo, and had been abandoned. In two days the ship was refloated and taken back to Malta. Admiral Sir Robert Smart, Commander in Chief of the Mediterranean, recommended Tryon and his crew should receive salvage for the ship, and the sum of £595 was granted to be divided between them. Once again Tryon received a commendation in the Admiral's report. During this time he wrote a report on punishments within the navy, which was forwarded by his commander to the Admiralty. He recommended that fines to sailors absent from duty or incapable should be limited to forfeiting pay for the time they failed to carry out their duties, and this was adopted. In February 1866 Surprise was visiting the Greek island of Santorini, which is part of the rim of a volcano. The ship witnessed clouds of steam and explosions as a new island 100 yards long and 50 wide had just begun to appear from the seabed a few days earlier. The eruption completely filled a channel through Santorini and then began to encroach on houses on the land. Surprise visited a number of ports around the Mediterranean, reporting on their facilities for the Admiralty. An issue arose as to whether the Admiralty should retain control of warehouses at Gibraltar, which were then underused. Tryon reported that in the event of war, stores immediately available at Gibraltar might be vitally important to the fleet, and that at such a time it would be virtually impossible to get back storage space relinquished in peace time. He was one of the few at that time to recognise the port's strategic significance for the fleet. Surprise returned to England to pay off at Plymouth Sound in April 1866. On arrival, Tryon found waiting his promotion to post-captain on 11 April 1866, which he had achieved by the comparatively early age of 34. Captain (1866–1884) Tryon now spent eighteen months away from ships. Aside from time on half pay on leave, he attended the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth to study steam technology. In August 1867 while touring Norway on a fishing expedition, he received a recall and appointment as 'additional captain' to . Octavia was the flagship of the East India Station commanded by Commodore Leopold Heath. Tryon was attached to Octavia, but his duties were to act as transport officer at Annesley Bay, which was to be used