Why the 1916 sloops did not escape through their minefield

Did the British sloops escape through a route they had cleared in the minefield because the Germans would not follow?

No; little had been cleared, and the Germans' decision to focus on Arabis rather than the other sloop better explains the escape.

The sloops were caught near the edge of the minefield. They had mostly been surveying rather than opening a dependable passage through it. Their escape cannot be explained by a safe lane that the German ships refused to enter. The German force concentrated on *Arabis* instead of pursuing the other sloop, which better explains the escape.