In one corner, the Royal Yachting Association, declaring pyrotechnic flares are obsolete. In the other, the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, pointedly renewing for another 2 years its ruling that flares are mandatory under the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention, though softening it a little round the edges.
What does it actually mean for a typical small yacht? The crucial issue here is that SOLAS distress signals are only a legal obligation for yachts above 13.7 m or on smaller craft licensed for commercial use, including sail training. They must carry flares. This means if you charter a yacht, it has to have them. The RYA has, however, won a dispensation allowing private yachts from 13.7 to 24 metres to at least dispense with parachute rockets, easily the least useful and most hazardous in use of the flares.
The important point is that the MCA’s tough line does not have any legal force with the rest of us, the purely recreational sailors on boats less than 13.7 metres. However, as the legal authority for all these matters, it still advises us to have officially recognised distress signals on board – ie flares.
The RYA is not giving up and is urging the MCA to remove all requirements to carry flares from recreational vessels under 24 metres, including those for training and charter. The MCA shows no sign of giving further concessions.
Where is Spring Fever in this? Our electronic equipment includes DSC radio and three PLBs plus an AIS receiver/transmitter. We stopped carrying rocket flares three years ago and bought an EVDS to substitute for red hand-helds.
We still have hand-held flares in the liferaft though they were packed by the service company. We have a powerful LED floodlight to shine on the sails, which we think is far more effective in alerting ships to our presence than white hand-held flares. But we do plan to keep renewing our floating orange flares, because in daylight they still have a useful function in pinpointing our position when lights are no good. We do not currently have hand held orange flares (below).
The company we bought them from will take them back to dispose of them when they are replaced. If you buy from a source that does not take old ones back, the cost of disposal is rising even if you can find anyone to take them, and coastguard ‘ last resort’ disposal facilities are extremely difficult to find, only intermittently operational, and at short notice.
The RYA statement can be found here: https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge-advice/current-affairs/Pages/carriage-of-pyrotechnic-flares.aspx
The MCA notice can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/876625/MIN_542_Amendment_1.pdf
tide by tide 