R.Ems
Active member
Do you carry them? Have you used one? I can imagine a white flare, designed to illuminate an area brightly, could be very handy. Eg lost among rocks, MOB, etc.
White parachute flares.
- Thread starter R.Ems
- Start date
mm42
Active member
Carry them and use them, mainly for scene lighting in search and rescue jobs.
Sandy
Well-known member
Carry them, last used them as a member of a Mountain Rescue Team.
Baddox
Well-known member
I’ve never had them so never used them and am questing whether or not to replace the usual coastal flares which are out of date this year.
During our Day Skipper course we moored overnight in Fowey. I’m not the best sleeper and was awake when the rescue services sent up a white flare. It illuminated the area well as they looked for the owner of an empty, adrift dinghy, presumed to have fallen in on the way back from the pub.
Although the light worked well, our crew slept through it without anything more audible than a whoosh to rouse them; the dinghy owner was soon identified safely ashore and dry. I keep a few, very bright Cree LED torches ready and charged now we have our own boat.
During our Day Skipper course we moored overnight in Fowey. I’m not the best sleeper and was awake when the rescue services sent up a white flare. It illuminated the area well as they looked for the owner of an empty, adrift dinghy, presumed to have fallen in on the way back from the pub.
Although the light worked well, our crew slept through it without anything more audible than a whoosh to rouse them; the dinghy owner was soon identified safely ashore and dry. I keep a few, very bright Cree LED torches ready and charged now we have our own boat.
Stemar
Well-known member
I carried one for years as a steamer scarer, but got rid of it when it got far enough out of date to be an issue. Now I have a plug-in spotlight and a decent battery-operated torch.
Sandy
Well-known member
No need to replace out of date pyrotechnics in the UK. They are quite safe if stored in the correct conditions.
Hermit
Well-known member
I fully appreciate it is a marketing blurb but the video at the end of this article may be of interest.
Pains Wessex launches sustainable flare packs
Pains Wessex launches sustainable flare packs
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martyn78
Member
Yeah. I used to keep old flares... One guess if i still do.
No the petrol container was NOT anywhere near.
R.Ems
Active member
My god what happened?
capnsensible
Well-known member
They are lifed because the chemicals in the pyrotechnic degrade over time. They may work. They may not. They may burn incorrectly.
Similarly, I don't eat out of date food just to see if I'm gonna get galloping gut rot.
I used to have a job that involved babysitting various categories of explosives and I totally trusted the maker.
Up to you......
Sandy
Well-known member
Yes, I recall your original post. I was careful to state, 'They are quite safe if stored in the correct conditions', As I said on your original post I do not consider being sat on a liferaft in the cockpit locker somewhere on the Med with an ambient temperature of >30°C , I'd estimate 50°c in the locker, are not the correct conditions.
EDIT: My post on the original thread.
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Sandy
Well-known member
True, but still usable. I am happy to carry pyrotechnics that are upto 10 years past their 'use by day' and have used some that were >20 years that worked. A bit like eating something a month out of date that had been kept correctly. Two years and that really is a risk.
Best not start talking about the shelf life of explosives as that strays into current affairs
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capnsensible
Well-known member
???
Juan Twothree
Well-known member
Got called out last year to a yacht that only had two handflares, both expired in 1983. One worked, the other didn't.
I pointed out to the skipper that the flares were older than most of the lifeboat crew that had come out to help him.
I pointed out to the skipper that the flares were older than most of the lifeboat crew that had come out to help him.
Helidan
Active member
Considering what they cost and the long expiry dates is it worth the risk?
dunedin
Well-known member
What complete nonsense from Pains Wessex - replacing a reusable plastic storage container does not make flares “sustainable”, and probably zero impact on plastic waste (can already buy flares without the pack, and have done for years). Adding a few extra years to the current 4-5 year state life, on the other hand, would hugely reduce waste and make a real difference to sustainability.
it might also win them some extra sales, if people see they had a longer lifespan. I have already reducedby more than half the pyro flares carried, due to the short lifespan of the flares - and invested in PLBs, LED flares etc instead.
Stemar
Well-known member
Expiry dates and sustainability were the main reasons I ditched the fireworks and got a LED "flare". The several hours life rather than several seconds were a further incentive. Other people sailing in other areas may come to a different conclusion, but it's rare that I'm out of mobile phone range and even rarer to be out of sight of land.
Neeves
Well-known member
Much of our land has no-one on it that would see a flare, call it uninhabited. Not much use having a mobile phone or VHF either, for similar reasons. Its either SSB, sat phone, EPIRB (mandatory) or sort out your own problems.
But in answer, we carry white para flares, and I have used one (once 30 years ago - it was quite legal then to release fireworks in Macau - so the only place to practice. But being young then - I've forgotten). Our flare container has a pair of welding gloves, as well as flares.
Jonathan
But in answer, we carry white para flares, and I have used one (once 30 years ago - it was quite legal then to release fireworks in Macau - so the only place to practice. But being young then - I've forgotten). Our flare container has a pair of welding gloves, as well as flares.
Jonathan
