and chat with their captains and crewmen. In 1899, Sanders became aware of a vacancy for a cabin boy aboard Kapanui, a steamer that worked the coast north of Auckland. An officer on the ship was an acquaintance and had given Sanders the tip that a position was available. Sanders promptly applied to join the vessel and was the successful applicant. He remained with the company that operated Kapanui for three years. In 1902 he joined Aparima, operated by the Union Steam Ship Company, which traded between New Zealand and India. In 1906, as an ordinary seaman, he transferred to , a government steamer servicing lighthouses along the New Zealand coast and depots on offshore islands. With his seafaring career to date spent working on steamships, Sanders decided to gain experience under sail with the Craig Line. At the time, steam was looked down upon by seafarers, sailors being regarded as more skillful. From 1910, Sanders sailed on a series of vessels and by 1914, after taking his mate's certificates, he was mate of the barque Joseph Craig. On 7 August 1914, the ship foundered on the Hokianga bar and Sanders took charge of a small boat to seek help. He appeared at the inquest held at Auckland into her sinking, the blame for which was placed on the master. First World War During the early part of the First World War, Sanders worked as second mate on Moeraki. He also sat for his master's certificate, passing with honours on 7 November 1914. He was discharged from Moeraki in December and applied for the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR). However, he was not called up and in the interim served as a Merchant Navy officer on the troopships Willochra and Tofua. After Sanders' repeated pleas to authorities, eventually in June 1915 the New Zealand High Commissioner wrote to the Admiralty in support of his efforts to join the RNR. This advocacy was presumably successful for in December 1915 he found passage on a steamer bound to Glasgow via the Atlantic. He reached the United Kingdom on 17 April 1916 and made his way to London where, two days after his arrival, he was appointed an acting sub-lieutenant in the RNR. After completing a three-month junior officer's course at the training facility HMS Excellent on Whale Island, Sanders was granted a position on Helgoland, a Q-ship operating against German submarines in the