There is no actual danger but the perception of it helps to build interest and excitement. A legend or story about what must be done or accomplished helps to build interest and engage the children. Heroic acts and deeds are talked about. All this can be done in a very physically demanding setting where the children are making demands on themselves. If that is done, everything is lost.
Nothing is learned.
Failure is a part of the process. Permit the children to fail so that when they achieve success, it will be their success and not tainted by teacher intervention. The object of this problem is to transport to safety the chief naval officer, the commodore. The statement of the problem may begin by telling the group that the fleet of ships is in the middle of the ocean and at any moment may be engaging in a naval battle. It is in this setting that the group is informed that the main ship transporting the commodore has become disabled.