Don,
Hope my post doesn't send people running away from flares. The point I was trying to make was that it is important to have a completely integrated emergancy and alerting system including flares.

Flares have their place. I carry three hand helds. However, I think folks psychologically rely on flares too much and are fundamentally use them in the wrong situations. They are a better night time, boat approaching with in 15 degrees at night tool. Preferably with someone on board already looking. I have stood a lot of bow watch on ships. A flare has a percentage chance of being seen. That goes up if one understand where a boat is "looking"

I read an accident report in Sea kayaker magazine recently. The fella popped his flare at a tug boat in the early still light evening, as it was moving away.... Garunteed everyone was inside that boat making it work. And the only eyes looking out were peering out of the wheel house portholes. The tug never saw those flares despite the fact he was close.

There may be 60 folks on a merchant ship, but max only 3 are looking at anyone time and most are looking forward. On sailboats it may be many less. On many vessels no one is watching anything butt he radar. But their listening to the radio...

My point is this. Flares have a place, but should not take the place of a radio to reach out and touch someone. They should not take the place of other signaling methods for day time and aviation detection. Radios are alerting tools a flare is a direction and detection tool. Sure it can be an alert...if some one just happens to be looking in thaat part of the sky in the 10 seconds that it is in the air.

Keep your flares as part of your emergancy and alerting system but think of them differently. Its like your tool bench, everything either cuts wood or grinds it, success begins by knowing what tool to use in each setting, at the right time.

!RUSS