With a plethora of ordnance being released as usual into the skies all over Britain on November 5th, a practice with nearly out of date flares seemed like a good idea. After watching the town's firework display from the vantage point of the club, members assembled in Hooker's dock while Portland Coastguard was called and advised of the exercise.
A range of flares were on offer which straight away showed the importance of reading the instructions as they all had different ways in which they could be discharged - a bit of standardisation would not go amiss from the manufacturers!
Another lesson observed was how hot the burnt out cases became, luckily there were plenty of buckets of water ready, to douse the white hot remnants in.
So successful was the exercise that another one will be planned in the spring when Hooker's dock is clear of cruisers, so watch this space.
Submitted on 8th November 2013