[Paddlewise] Aerial Flares

Though I've carried them for years, I've been rethinking the usefulness of 
aerial flares, especially now that the latest set is about to go out of 
date and needs replacement. I'd like the opinions of other Paddlewisers on 
this subject.

On the negative side, though flares are most useful after dark, I rarely 
paddle after dark, and only once paddled solo, on a starry night with light 
ripples and almost no wind. Furthermore, I have plenty of backup devices, 
which include an emergency flasher attached to the shoulder of my PFD, a 
waterproof headlamp, an LED light, a VHF radio, a GPS for sending my exact 
location, and, for daylight use, a signal mirror and an orange distress 
flag. Note that if you carry the flasher, Inland Rules do not require you 
to also carry flares. The Skyblazer flares I carry are notoriously 
unreliable unless fresh, and cannot be tested without firing them off. 
Disposal is also a problem. In contrast, battery-powered devices can be 
tested before every trip, and spare batteries are easy to carry.

On the positive side, aerial flares are the only signaling devices I carry 
that can be seen over the horizon. However, if you wait to fire off your 
limited supply of flares until you see another vessel or aircraft, that 
advantage is lost.

My wilderness paddling is normally among Lake Superior's Apostle Islands, 
where there is a fair amount of pleasure boat traffic, or in true 
wilderness along the Canadian shore of Lake Superior, where there is little 
boat or plane traffic, any signal is less likely to be seen, and even radio 
communications is uncertain.

How say you -- yea or nay?

Chuck Holst


-----Original Message-----
From:	Steven A. Holtzman [SMTP:sh_at_actglobal.net]
Sent:	Thursday, February 07, 2002 8:03 AM
To:	Doug Lloyd; PaddleWise_at_paddlewise.net
Subject:	Re: [Paddlewise] Laser Flares

Doug,

Please post whatever you are able to find out about these. They look
intriguing. After having watched the demonstration of all of the different
types of flares in Wayne Horodowich's video on caspsize and recovery. I 
have
had to completely re-think my options of being seen. Although flares are
great at night, the visibility of most of them is terrible during the day.
During the daylight trials, the only ones that I was able to see were the
ones fired from the small 12 guage pistols--and they were still hard to 
see.

Steve Holtzman


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