Flares and Spain

LadyInBed

LadyInBed

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montymariner.co.uk
I am heading down to Galicia for the first time this summer.
What is the current wisdom on items that go out of date? - Flares and fire extinguishers come to mind.
I have looked on Jim's site and read http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?321246-Flares-Onboard-in-the-Med

My flares are ood as are some of my fire extinguishers (I tend not to throw much away) :o
I know the obvious answer is to buy all new ones, but in 30 years I have never needed a flare, I would be more than happy not to carry any at all! (It has never worried me having ood flares in France, so it must be down to the fear of the unknowns of Spain.
An option I have been considering is a 'laser flare' as they don't go ood.
I don't want to start a debate on the pros and cons of laser flares, but what do you think the Spanish would make of them in comparison to ood or no flares?
 
The Spanish are pretty laid back about most things; we've never been checked for anything other than passport, registration and insurnace and that is all done by the marina offices. However, I understand that, as in France and Portugal, it is illeagal to have out of date flares on board. I would suggest therefore that you get rid of the out of date stuff and replace with new, as I consider pyrotechnics to be the best way of advertising to all that you are in need of help.

As regards extinguishers, when I've looked at mine, there are no dates on them, just a guage to show its still under pressure. So no need to replace?
 
You will need to be able to show you have in-date flares if Mr Jobsworth comes a calling. If you are going to replace
yours then I suggest you do so once you are on the continent where there is far less control & typical British red tape (bull****).
and they are considerably cheaper than UK (now there's a surprise !!)
 
duncan99210 said:
The Spanish are pretty laid back about most things; we've never been checked for anything other than passport, registration and insurnace and that is all done by the marina offices. However, I understand that, as in France and Portugal, it is illeagal to have out of date flares on board. I would suggest therefore that you get rid of the out of date stuff and replace with new, as I consider pyrotechnics to be the best way of advertising to all that you are in need of help.

As regards extinguishers, when I've looked at mine, there are no dates on them, just a guage to show its still under pressure. So no need to replace?
Click to expand...

+ 1 for flares

Extinguishers can be a problem, although indicating correct pressure the powder can compact over a period. I replace ours every few years when in Lidl at under a tenner.

Don't know where Sandyman gets his info about the "continent" having less control than UK for flares. UK has no control or, regs about out of date ones whereas other countries do have. Also, in Portugal, it's law that the police have to issue a certificate to allow purchase. They're off the chandlery shelf in Spain just like UK.
 
LadyInBed said:
I am heading down to Galicia for the first time this summer.
What is the current wisdom on items that go out of date? - Flares and fire extinguishers come to mind.
I have looked on Jim's site and read http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?321246-Flares-Onboard-in-the-Med

My flares are ood as are some of my fire extinguishers (I tend not to throw much away) :o
I know the obvious answer is to buy all new ones, but in 30 years I have never needed a flare, I would be more than happy not to carry any at all! (It has never worried me having ood flares in France, so it must be down to the fear of the unknowns of Spain.
An option I have been considering is a 'laser flare' as they don't go ood.
I don't want to start a debate on the pros and cons of laser flares, but what do you think the Spanish would make of them in comparison to ood or no flares?
Click to expand...

The last time that I checked, some two years ago, assuming that you are in a non Spanish registered boat, the theoretical requirement for safety kit in Spain was what your boat's home country required you to have. If UK registered and non coded then presumably have what you think appropriate BUT out of date kit is bound to be viewed as incorrect. Having said that I have never yet heard of any Spanish authority having any interest in any kit on non Spanish registered boats unless part of some greater event such as an accident or rescue. Regarding fire extinguishers, the rules for Spanish boats seem to be that you should be able to show annual servicing from an "appropriate" source - whatever that may mean.
Portugal is a whole different ball game! I suggest a view of the www.lagosnavigators.net website for very good and up to date information.
For what its worth, my experience is that flares are much more difficult and expensive to get in Portugal than Spain - you need to get approval, for a fee, from the Maritime Police before you can order them from a chandler. Many chandlers don't want the bother so decline to supply such items. I doubt if anyone in authority there has ever heard of a laser flare let alone knows what it does.
Fair winds.
 
Yes, much harder to get flares in Portugal. I have out of date flares on my boat in Galicia but they only expired in Januart this year. I asked the marina about disposal and they were happy to take them. However, they pointed out that I'd get a discount on new flares i I handed over old ones. Apparently the system includes a charge for disposal when you buy and so it's better to hand old ones back to cancel it out.

I haven't tried it yet but will be buying new flares when I get back to Galicia. I'm heading down to Portugal again and will take my own advice to avoid the slight possibility of any problem.
 
In Portugal it is inadvisable to have out of date flares on board, and any port office (Capitania)should take them. We disposed of ours with no problem at all, and more importantly, no charge.
Replacing them was easy, we drove to Vigo and bought new ones.
An acquaintance of ours was fined 500 euros for having one or more out of date flares in the Algarve area.
Fire extinguishers should be examined annually; most marinas will call the local service company to attend on site. I think it cost us 40 Euros last year, for 9 extinguishers.
Finally, as indicated above, the Lagos Navigators website gives a current list of what is required generally regarding safety equipment.
I took a copy to the maritime police here, (who we work closely with), and they confirmed that the list was correct. For us we are "Ocean" category, as the authorities deem that if you have come from another country (in our case UK, via Spain), then you are automatically into the highest category.

Cheers,

Michael.
 
Sandyman said:
You will need to be able to show you have in-date flares if Mr Jobsworth comes a calling. If you are going to replace
yours then I suggest you do so once you are on the continent where there is far less control & typical British red tape (bull****).
and they are considerably cheaper than UK (now there's a surprise !!)
Click to expand...
I would be incredibly surprised if you could buy flares or anything else other than beer and fags in Spain cheaper than you can get them in the UK.
 
duncan99210 said:
However, I understand that, as in France and Portugal, it is illeagal to have out of date flares on board.
Click to expand...

This has been posted on YBW a number of times, apparently from the RYA magazine:

ycq7anf
 
colind3782 said:
Probably didn't make myself clear. Is there a legal way of purchasing flares in the UK and carrying them to Spain?
Click to expand...

The only way that I have found other than on a yacht, is to take a P&O ferry cross channel and drive South having obtained clearance from P&O well in advance; email to and from customer services seems to work. No other cross channel ferry company seems to allow this. Upon checking in at the ferry terminal your "cargo" will result in you being separated from the normal traffic and made to park on board in a special place among HGVs etc etc. There was no extra charge for this just a lot of repeated explanations to/from Jobsworths on the dockside. Whether or not the drive South through France, Spain etc in a private car is strictly legal is something of a grey area! All the above assumes that we are talking about a standard, yacht sized, polybottle, Offshore type kit of flares and not a vast load of the things.
Personally, I don't think it is worth the hassle.
Fair winds.
 
Once many years ago ... Before the Labour goveernment introduced red tape and banned the sale of large fireworks... I used to do an annual firework display for Guy Forks night... At that time we had a lot of ood flares so I set them off as part of the display.... Most were ten years ood.... all worked fine... except the one where the casing and firing pin was visibly damaged....
 
When I towed my RIB down to Lagos, from Portsmouth - Santander, was asked before I drove on the ferry if I had any flares onboard... "Nope" .... are you sure? "definatly" ok go on you go......... ;)
 
If you're heading to Spain, buy them here they're about the same price in € as they are in £ (ie a parachute flare costing about £25 in UK is available for about €25 euro here). That said, I'd have no worries about packing them in the car and bringing them with me. If anyone actually asked me if I was carrying them, I'd tell them then and there at the quayside; they'd then load the vehicle in a differnet location on the ferry - usually on the weather deck at the stern. Remember that the ferry itself will have a fair quantity of the things on board under SOLAS requirements, so a few more is not going to stop it sailing!

As regards transporting them in a car, provided you're talking about a sensible quantity, then you will find that the Net Explosive Quantity (ie the amount of pyrotechnic material contained in the flares) is below the exemption limits. That means that you do not need to placard your vehicle with red plates and hazard warning signs, there is no restriction on your movement and you do not need an hazardous good vehicle driving licence. That applies throughout the EU.
 
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