A Warship's Experiments: A Picnic Party's Fire: A Message in a Bottle.

THREE more have to be added to the many and varied false alarms which have called out Life-boats.* On 25th August last, the Motor Life-boat at Selsey and Bognor was launched just after nine in the evening, in response to a message from the Coastguard that a series of red flares had been seen about eight miles away. A moderate breeze was blowing, with a moderate sea run- ning, and the Life-boat was out for an hour and a half. It was found that the rockets had been fired by a warship * See The Lifeboat for November, 1925, November, 1926, September, 1929, and November, 1929.

which was experimenting with them, and the Commander-in-Chief at Ports- mouth expressed his regrets to the Institution. The rockets were also seen at Bembridge, and believed to be signals of distress. The Crew as;embled, one of those waiting to go out in the Life-boat being Captain D. W. Gunston, M.C., Member of Parliament for the Thornbury Division of Gloucestershire.

The Life-boat was just about to be launched when a message came explain- ing what the flares were.

On the same day, the Tenby Motor Life- boat was launched at 9.30 p.m. as the Coastguard had reported a flare at the foot of Monkstone Cliffs. The Life-boat was. out for an tour, searching along the cliffs for several miles, but could find nothing. It was discovered later that the flare was a fire which had been lighted by a picnic party, died down, and then been revived by otter people on the beach.

The third is a hoax ratter than a false alarm. On 24th February a bottle was washed up at Weston-super-Mare with a message, " Stranded on Steep Holme without food. Send boat at once." Steep Holme is an uninhabited island ten miles away. The message was sent by the District Officer of Coastguard to the Coxswain of the Life-boat, and, as no motor boat was available, he launched at 1.50 P.M. On reaching tte island he landed eight men and thoroughly searched it, but could find no trace of anyone having been on it recently.

It was not until 6.30 in tte evening ttat tte Life-boat reached her Station again. There is no doubt that tte message was a hoax. This toax cost tte Institution over £20 in tte rewards paid to tte Crew, and—wtat is muct more important—tte Life-boat was away from her Station for nearly five tours and therefore not available had her telp been needed elsewtere.

We would not envy tte feelings of tte perpetrator of ttis hoax tad lives been lost as a result of tte absence of tte Life-Boat..