Flares

[Red5]

Just a little online poll for all you boat owners out there as this may affect you if the powers that be get their way.

Boating Business: Tell us what you think about flares

[Charlie_Thompson]

Just a little online poll for all you boat owners out there as this may affect you if the powers that be get their way.

Boating Business: Tell us what you think about flares

Absolutely mental - An important health and safety device banned for causing a health and safety issue (*ahem - cost)

[Iva-Cod-on]

I'm gobbsmacked!! The world is ABSOLUTELY nuts oh yeah lets spend shed loads of cash building useless monuments or whatever but safety at sea nare politics eh!!
I personally cant believe the RNLI is volenteers KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK LADS!!

[Norman]

Absolutely mental - An important health and safety device banned for causing a health and safety issue (*ahem - cost)

(sorry to pich your line ell but it's so spot on !)

[jason]

boils my blood given the amount of time we spent in the navy looking for people and boats and the only way we found them was by locating flares.

MADNESS.

[Charlton]

ruddy rediculous, sorry dear wife and kids I drowned because the lifeboat couldn't find me because I had no flares.
Easy solution the MCA takes the TEPs to the local MOD, one trip.

[harry barker]

flares

Do we really need them in 2009.
I'm not saying don't carry flares at all but times are changing as other methods of safety and location of persons and vessels at sea have moved on a lot.
I have sailed for years and always had 'up to date' flares for the correct areas of off shore sailing.
I have needed to make contact with the coastguard only on one occasion and this was done via vhf/ssb and location beacon.
I have only once fired a flare and this was a collision avoidance situation but today I would have first used the AIS communication route this was not possible a few years ago.
EPIRB/ rapidfix/satellite 406 location/global gps/ personal locator are now available to us as is vhf/dsc radios.(Mobile phones limited coverage)
Safety at sea has moved on and for the better so maybe the old methods as burning tar on the for-decks,raising and lowing arms/...---... signals and the likes are out-of-date as is the use of flares.
This condemnation of flares maybe very similar to the time when the government said we don't need lighthouse keepers (3) to man 24/7 of all the lighthouses around the British isles(before my time by the way)
I have had a problem getting rid of out-of-date flares before,I did post this on this forum some months ago and as yet not renewed for 2009 sailing season.
This is my opinion only and just another slant on this subject.

[Graham B]

Crazy!!!!!!!

As a deck/navigating officer in the merchant navy I think this idea is lunacy, I know huge adavnces in technology have been made and I work with them six months of the year but the more aids you have to getting help in an emergency situation the better in my opinion, if everything else fails (ie blackout, melted batteries, water damage, electronic spike disabling all nav aids and radios ecdis etc)you always have the flares, the more methods the better and this defines cost cutting at it best!!!

[KeithB]

They proabably have no intention of ceasing to collect the TEPs, more likely just softening the blow before they start charging for the service.

[big_sean]

Do we really need them in 2009.
I'm not saying don't carry flares at all but times are changing as other methods of safety and location of persons and vessels at sea have moved on a lot.
I have sailed for years and always had 'up to date' flares for the correct areas of off shore sailing.
I have needed to make contact with the coastguard only on one occasion and this was done via vhf/ssb and location beacon.
I have only once fired a flare and this was a collision avoidance situation but today I would have first used the AIS communication route this was not possible a few years ago.
EPIRB/ rapidfix/satellite 406 location/global gps/ personal locator are now available to us as is vhf/dsc radios.(Mobile phones limited coverage)
Safety at sea has moved on and for the better so maybe the old methods as burning tar on the for-decks,raising and lowing arms/...---... signals and the likes are out-of-date as is the use of flares.
This condemnation of flares maybe very similar to the time when the government said we don't need lighthouse keepers (3) to man 24/7 of all the lighthouses around the British isles(before my time by the way)
I have had a problem getting rid of out-of-date flares before,I did post this on this forum some months ago and as yet not renewed for 2009 sailing season.
This is my opinion only and just another slant on this subject.

Sorry lads but got to agree with this one

as for the disposal of flares i have never expected anyone else to dispose of mine and yes i do set them off at bonfire night

how many people that actually own flares actually know how to set them off by having a go on bonfire night it gives me confidence that i know how to use them

But as a last resort i will still carry them

on my boat i have
fixed compass x2 hand held compass x1
gps fixed x1 gps hand held x1
vhf fixed x1 vhf hand held x1

and am just in the position of puchasing a epirb/locator beacon

so realy i cannot do much more but to have my boat and engines profesionally looked after and keep up on everything

and hopefully i will never need to use any in a real emergency




SEAN

[Red5]

I posted this as we had ours taken off us last year....'supposedly because they were dangerous', but we were told they were being given to the RNLI? If it's dangerous for Coastguards to use them, then why do we give them to someone else?
We finally have them back but Mr Cardy obviously isn't going to let this one go.

The white parachute flares we use are ideal for lighting up large areas during a search and have proved pivotal on a number of occasions, during searches for anglers and missing persons.
There was a recent incident where CRO's fired flares on the west coast and quickly found two girls who were missing and an angler oop North only a month or two back was found after being swept off rocks when a white para was launched and the casualty was located, and CRO's guided the RNLI AWB to the casualty in the water. Two incidents where the search lights we are issued with would not have found either.

As has been said, most may never use their flares, but.....What if as Graham B says all else fails

[mark]

Boating Business: MCA in distress over flares

[Charlie_Thompson]

'We are trying to find a way through this maze, and when a path is established it is going to be very expensive,' says Mr Cardy. 'The most logical solution to me for all of us, is for recreational yachtsmen to stop using them.'

Not trying to find a way through a maze at all, there is no maze - rescue services as far as I can gather prefer them, boat owners trust and rely on them -where's the logic you peenarse.

In case anyone has missed out on this little gem as well you will also be required to inform the Stasi 24 hours in advance if you fancy popping over the Channel or North Sea - just what is going on?

[Charlton]

one thing I always carried, on top of all the other flares on the boat, on my person when out in the boat, a small pack of mini flares just incase I went overboard.

[Charlie_Thompson]

one thing I always carried, on top of all the other flares on the boat, on my person when out in the boat, a small pack of mini flares just incase I went overboard.

And a coupla Mackerel