Orange smoke flare being set off in the SFYC harbour.

After seeing the difference between SOLAS and non SOLAS flares at the Sea Survival course I helped run at SFYC many of my clients asked that I put together a OSR Cat 2 pack of SOLAS flares. I put them together in a way I have been doing for a number of years. The Cat 2 requirement is for 4 red parachute flares, 4 red handheld flares and 2 orange smoke flares.

As you can see I put a small square of adhesive reflective tape on the firing ends of the flares so if it is dark it is easy to figure out which end is the important end! Also in each box is a set of gloves to wear to decrease the likliehood of getting burnt. I splice on a lanyard with a clip to allow the box to be attached so it doesn’t float away.

I fill the box with foam to ensure that the box is inherently bouyant and doesn’t sink if it fills with water.