in 1868, he was responsible for transporting aid to those affected by that year's earthquake, and he later brought back the remains of Bernardo O'Higgins, at the orders of Manuel Blanco Encalada. Prat was promoted to a lieutenant on September 9. He returned to Naval School, as an instructor. From 1871, he was the Second Commander of Esmeralda, leading to his appointment to several positions in the school (teacher, subdirector, internal director), and was assigned to teach courses such as Naval Order, Law, Naval Tactics and Cosmography. Additionally, he was responsible for docking the corvette for four years (1871–1874) in the port of Mejillones. He received the title of Graduated Corvette Captain (equivalent to lieutenant commander) in 1873 and in 1874. He was a dedicated teacher who fought against the lack of resources available to provide quality education. He translated textbooks from French to Spanish. Around that time, Prat faced an unusual situation. On May 24, 1875, Esmeralda was in the port of Valparaíso while Prat was on sick leave. The commander of the ship, Luis Alfredo Lynch, was also on leave, so Lieutenant Constantino Bannen was left in charge. A storm began in the bay and Valdivia broke its cables and went right towards Esmeralda, which then impacted with Maipo. It appeared that the destruction of Esmeralda would be unavoidable. When Prat and Lynch returned, they managed to be taken back to the ship by boat, but the violent waves kept them from embarking. Lynch and Prat threw themselves into the water and swam to the ship to climb a rope. Prat worked feverishly with a rope tied from his waist to the mast to accomplish rescue maneuvers which stopped the vessel with its bow against the beach, and secure it there with rigging. Luis Alfredo Lynch later remembered Prat's "unflappable calm in the face of danger". The repair of Esmeralda was long and hard and cost 100,000 pesos. Lynch had to face charges of dereliction of duty, however he was saved by a tie in the voting. Throughout the trial, Arturo Prat was always faithful to his superior, helping him however he could. After the tests of May 1876 and only three years before the War of the Pacific, the Chilean government closed the Naval School, saying that Chile no longer needed naval officers. Prat, who left Condell in charge of Esmeralda, disembarked and, because of his studies