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WINTER 2000
ISSUE
BOATING SAFETY:
Visual Distress Signals
U.S. COAST GUARD SAFETY REGULATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS: Visual Distress Signals
Visual Distress Signals are used by boaters to signal for help. There are different instruments used for different times of day. At night, pyrotechnic devices such as flares, smoke and flashlights are used to indicate the position of a boat in distress. During the day, a boater in distress can use pyrotechnic devices as well as flags and arm signals. These signaling methods are approved by the U.S. Coast Guard and have regulations and requirements for their use.
The U.S. Coast Guard requirement for Visual Distress Signals:
"All vessels used on coastal waters, the Great Lakes, territorial seas, and those waters connected directly to them, up to a point where a body of water is less than two miles wide, must be equipped with U.S.C.G. Approved visual distress signals. Vessels owned in the United States operating on the high seas must be equipped with U.S.C.G. Approved visual distress signals."
Pyrotechnic Signals and Non-Pyrotechnic Signals
PYROTECHNIC SIGNALS: U.S.C.G. Approved pyrotechnic signals are:
Pyrotechnic Red Flares, hand-held or aerial
Pyrotechnic Orange Smoke, hand-held or floating
Launchers for aerial red meteors or parachute flares
|
|
 PARACHUTE FLARE (day/night) |
 ORANGE SMOKE Hand-Held (day only) |
 ORANGE SMOKE Floating (day/night) |
 RED METEOR (day/night) |
NON-PYROTECHNIC SIGNALS: U.S.C.G. Approved day signals are:
Orange Distress Flag - at least 3'x3' with a black square and ball on an orange background
Electric Distress Light - must automatically flash the international SOS distress signal (...---...)
 ORANGE FLAG (day only) |
 ELECTRIC LIGHT Auto SOS Signal (night only) |
Arm Signals can be used during the day to signal distress, but a signal device is recommended
Remember: "Regulations prohibit the use of distress signals on the water under any circumstances except when assistance is required to prevent immediate or potential danger to persons on board a vessel." U.S.C.G. Regulation
The U.S.C.G recommends boaters carry a variety of distress signals on board a boat. Each signal device has optimal conditions under which it is best used. Daylight, night, rain, fog and other considerations may hamper the effectiveness of signal devices, so carrying several different types is a good idea. Pyrotechnic signal devices are excellent for all weather and light conditions, but the risk of fire and burns exists. The U.S.C.G. recommends the following as good combinations of devices to carry onboard to meet requirements:
Three hand-held red flares (day and night)
One hand-held red flare and two parachute flares (day and night)
One hand-held orange smoke signal, two floating orange smoke signals (day) and one electric distress light (night)
For more information on Visual Distress Signals go to the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Boating Safety website.
May 2000, MarinaMate.com Images provided by U.S.C.G. Boating Safety Office website.
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