The older I get, the more safety conscious I become. Every year I add to the emergency kit I bring on my small-boat adventures, but as yet I've never carried pyrotechnic emergency flares. My reluctance stems from wariness: I’m averse to the explosions that launch aerial flares and the slag that drips from handheld flares. I don’t want to chance burning a hole in dry bags or sails, further endangering me in an emergency, or risk swamping or capsize by holding a flare far over the gunwale. Flares are also bad news from financial and environmental perspectives. A basic set costs about $30 and expires in around three years, providing the flares don't get damp or damaged, a likely occurrence on a small boat. Once their expiration date has passed, flares no longer meet Coast Guard requirements and have to be replaced and eventually disposed as a hazardous material. All that aside, do they work? According to many reports, including an article from the safety-oriented BoatUS, flares, lasting from a few seconds to a few minutes, aren't actually very visible.So what's a small-boat sailor to do? The new battery-powered SOS Distress Light from Weems & Plath may be worth considering as an addition your kit. Introduced to the market in January of this year, the light is currently the only one of its type to meet Coast Guard requirements. There are many emergency strobe lights with simple on/off flashing, but they don't qualify as substitutes for flares.
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