February 2020

Time to dump your flares?

‘…Pyrotechnic flares are now obsolescent’. This isn’t my view or the view of a penniless sailor reluctant to shell out £120 or more on replacement flares, but the official verdict of the RYA.

Personally, I find having flares on board reassuring. They don’t rely on the boat’s electricity supply or batteries that run down. They are reasonably easy to operate and are a great visual guide, particularly at night, to the location of the vessel in distress. Parachute flares can be seen from up to 25 miles away, red handheld flares from three to five miles in good conditions.

BUT – there is no doubt that if, today, a distress alerting system which relied on the use of high explosives in plastic containers, often held in the hand and operated by someone who has never used one before, at night and on a heaving deck was proposed, it would be laughed out of court. Every year there are tragic accidents and it’s not always yachtsmen using long out of date flares. Silly mistakes like holding them upside down, dropping them and pointing them in the wrong direction cause many horrendous injuries.

Until comparatively recently there was no real alternative to carrying flares to cover all possible emergencies. Recent developments in personal EPIRBS and AIS sets, the cost of which is falling all the time and the introduction of LED flares really cover all the bases previously served by flares.

In terms of cost, any boat equipped for coastal or offshore sailing should have a fixed VHF and as handheld (ideally waterproof and floating) so this can be discounted; set of personal position locating beacons will be quite expensive but they have a far longer life than flares and can be much more effective in attracting the right sort of response in the right length of time.

Flares require careful handling and careful storage and, once out of date, are currently next to impossible to dispose of. Probably the only thing keeping flares in the game is the requirement of many racing organisations that they should be carried by yachts competing under their regulations. There are also parts of the world where radio coverage is by no means as good as it is in northern Europe

I have had a full set of electronic position finding kit, both ship and personal for several years. I will continue to carry flares for as long as my current set are in date. After that… well I think it’s time to say goodbye.

As a PS I would add, whichever way to decide to go, please make sure you include operating training as part of your crew briefing.

James Jermain


[Read the RYA's view at https://www.rya.org.uk/newsevents/e-newsletters/inbrief/Pages/Pyrotechnic-Flares-past-their-sell-by-date-.aspx ]

Strop splicing

An evening of splicing instruction, preceded by a short talk on moorings, will be held in the Club on March 4th, 1900-2100hrs.

It is hoped that this will be useful for new mooring holders and those who want to make strops from 3 strand nylon, but any member is welcome.

A limited amount of 18, 24 and 28mm nylon will be available, to save time I will try to cut and tape appropriate lengths of rope beforehand, but I need to have the dimensions of the boats before I start cutting. I will also have some plastic tubing and old fire hose to prevent chafe
.
The measurements required are
1. Length and displacement of boat
2. Length of strop required - the sum of the distance from mooring cleat or Sampson post to the bow roller plus 1.5 times the height of the bow roller above the water line
3. You also need to check the size of rope plus plastic tubing/old fire hose that your bow roller or fairleads will accommodate.

You can of course purchase your own materials. Bogey Knights Emporium at Mutton Cove, Plymouth (knightsurplus.co.uk) is usually a good source for rope. All chandlers sell plastic tubing and thimbles, (I don’t use thimbles). Marine Bazaar offer a 10% discount to CYC members.

Please telephone/email to let me know that you are coming to ensure I have sufficient materials for those that wish to make strops, and if you need any advice.

Charles

Dr. C. W. Evans
dr.cwevans@gmail.com
01752 845297

This website uses cookies to allow navigation around the site. By using and further navigating this website you accept this.
See the Information > Privacy page for more details of personal information used by linked sites.