Six Bells Sailing Club: Flares Training Course
by Six Bells Sailing Club 15 Nov 2014 10:52 GMT
15 November 2014
Six Bells Sailing Club November training evening for the correct use of flares © Six Bells Sailing Club
The Six Bells Sailing Club, Lymington, have run another of their popular November training evenings for the correct use of flares.
It is clear that with the wide selection of flares available and with what seems little or no uniformity of design or application, these instructional evenings are really useful for the safety of boat users.
The first impression gained by all participants was the complete confusion in shapes, markings, instructions and methods of operation. Instructions are in minute writing in many languages or in tiny diagrams. The chance of operating a flare correctly in a life raft in a force 6 at night appears impossible, without extensive training and experience.
Hand flares for instance, are ignited by either pulling a lever or cord at the top or at the bottom, depending on the manufacturer. Clearly this could cause confusion and put operators at risk.
All these flares had differing instructions, some with small text that could not be read at night and differing methods of ignition: top or bottom, strike or pull!
Another issue highlighted was the difficulty in removing tough plastic sealing without an available knife or scissors.
Rocket flares can be equally as confusing with various methods of launching them, either with pull cords or levers. In the dark and disorientated it might even be possible to fire the rocket downwards with possibly fatal consequences.
These examples all feature differing methods of ignition: strike, pull, and lever. Where to hold was not made clear on most!
Smoke flares also suffered from a variety differing body shapes, confusing instructions and ignition systems.
What became clear is that boaters who buy flares, or may need to use them, should take the time to read instructions, memorise them and be familiar with where they are stowed and how they operate. Trying to do this during an emergency will increase both delay and operational risk.
The Six Bells Sailing Club will pass their findings to the Royal Yachting Association with a plea for a move towards standardisation. There is a need for a unified system to be able to identify the type of flare, which way up to hold it and how to set it off. These essential requirements should be identifiable in the dark and in stressful situations without the use of knives, tools, reading glasses or light.