Carrying flares

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Tranona

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Letter in YM this month arguing against carrying flares - using all the arguments commonly aired here.

Interesting comments from MCA. Pointing out that there are so many superior alternatives for communicating with rescue services now and that flares only a legal requirement for yachts over 13.7m. not a ringing endorsement for flares.

Longer reply from RYA explaining why they do not support compulsory carrying of flares with again all the arguments used here.
 
Like all technology they are of their time, eventually becoming superseded. Similar to Shipping forecasts on BBC Radio 4.

Flares are living through their end of days time and while I am a supporter of flares, eventually I’ll switch to something else, but not yet.
 
Tranona said:
....

Longer reply from RYA explaining why they do not support compulsory carrying of flares with again all the arguments used here.
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The main reason we carry the flares we do is requirements laid down by RYA affiliated clubs, drawn from ORC offshore regulations.
Is there any sign of the RYA exercising any influence to reduce the requirement to carry flares?

There is a tendency for some club jobsworths to upgrade their little jaunt around the bay to the safety requirements of the Fastnet.
 
I do still carry some flares, they are part of the life raft package, but otherwise I don't carry any other pyrotechnics, only laser 'flares' PLB, DSC VHF fixed and DSC hand held.
 
Laser flares... what's not to like? Don't go out after around 30 seconds, no danger of injury, don't expire after 3 years.
I have to carry pyrotechnics on my commercial vessel. ?
 
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38mess said:
Laser flares... what's not to like? Don't go out after around 30 seconds, no danger of injury, don't expire after 3 years.
I have to carry pyrotechnics on my commercial vessel. ?
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I've got a couple of lasers in the workshop which have failed to work after a couple of years.
Electronic gadgets stored on a boat, do you feel lucky?
If you're lucky, you won't be needing them anyway.....
 
We all make our decisions on safety equipment and the correct maintenance of it. No rights no wrongs. We are free to choose out of the range available. As time moves on the range will change and we will move with it even if reluctantly. Some people hate mobile phones and think that pressing button B in a call box was an exciting brush with technology. All we can do is be aware of the arguments and live by our choices.
 
capnsensible said:
Personally, it's the views of the frontline rescue services I want to hear...
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That won't be the RNLI then, on this particular question..unless a lifeboat happens to be the first to receive your distress call, or to see your flare.
I want to hear the views of the people who called in the distress. Everyone else, including HMCG is downstream of that event, unless they actually took a VHF distress first.
 
Gary Fox said:
Loud rockets that fire up into the sky, compared to little digital winky-twinklers? It's not even a question.
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Rockets are fine in a coastal or busy shipping areas, as long as someone is looking out, not so much use in the middle of the Atlantic, or even the Celtic Sea if there's not a lot of shipping about, that's why I carry a PLB (used to have an EPIRB on my last boat, but now farthest I sail is across to Ireland, felt EPIRB a bit OTT), and have both fixed and hand held DSCVHF.
The 'winky-twinklers' are there as additional visual positioning aid when hopefully help is nearby, in the same manner as one would use a hand held pyrotechnic.
#11 as kids we always tried button B in phone boxes, just in case a few coins would drop out.
 
Praxinoscope said:
Rockets are fine in a coastal or busy shipping areas, as long as someone is looking out, not so much use in the middle of the Atlantic, or even the Celtic Sea if there's not a lot of shipping about, that's why I carry a PLB (used to have an EPIRB on my last boat, but now farthest I sail is across to Ireland, felt EPIRB a bit OTT), and have both fixed and hand held DSCVHF.
The 'winky-twinklers' are there as additional visual positioning aid when hopefully help is nearby, in the same manner as one would use a hand held pyrotechnic.
#11 as kids we always tried button B in phone boxes, just in case a few coins would drop out.
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Totally agree, and I carry the same stuff, except I would use a red hand-held pyro instead of the LED twinkler. Then there is no chance of ambiguity.
Although on reflection, I have read several accounts of blue water yachtsmen being rescued by ships who saw their pyros.
Arguably, in deep water, right out at sea, there is easily as much chance of someone on a distant ship seeing a red rocket, as there is of someone on the bridge hearing, understanding, and urgently responding to a weak VHF message in a foreign language.
 
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Sandy said:
I will not give up carrying pyrotechnics, they are brilliant at getting the rescue 'asset' that last few miles.
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Do you have any hard quantifiable evidence that this is the case and that the casualties would not have been rescued in the absence of a flare?
 
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