SOLAS life saving signals

[yachtcharisma]

There's been lots of muttering about the new SOLAS requirement for passage planning, but can anyone tell me why they thought the sheet of distress signals was an important idea? Maybe I'm just illustrating why I ought to get one and read through it, but if its the waving your arms either side of you body sort of thing, can anyone recollect an incident when life was saved by doing this which wouldn't have been if the person had just been waving frantically, shouting etc etc.?

Cheers
Patrick

Sailing a Corribee in Plymouth
vzone.virgin.net/patrick.fox

 

[BrendanS]

Nope - it's air to surface directions signals, surace to air replies, air to surface replies, surface to air signals, search and rescue unit replies, shore to ship signals etc.

example is: 'landing here is dangerous' with additional signals to indicate direction

 

[webcraft]

It's been a requirement on coded boats for a while as far as I can see - or do charter companies just like giving us something to read in the heads? (It's usually on the wall in there, and why not?)

There's a free one with this month's PBO which I've run through the laminator and will be sticking up on my own boat in due course.

Sadly, it doesn't include the bit about lighting a fire on the foredeck being an acceptable distress signal . . . I'm sure I remember that from one of these sheets in the past.

<font color=blue>Nick</font color=blue> -

BlueMoment.Com
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.bluemoment.com/>http://www.bluemoment.com/</A>

 

[pandroid]

I tried that once trying to attract the attention of a local Dinghy Club's rescue boat, when my tender flipped over, drowned the outboard and lost the oars (I know, I know...). The rescue boat ignored me until I did what you suggested....

 

[Cornishman]

It has been a requirement for coded boats right from the beginning of the Code. It is available either as one great big sheet (SOLAS 1) or on two sides of a smaller one - hence the Code requirement for two copies of SOLAS 2.