Flares 101

#1 Reason for Failing a Safety Check by the Coast Guard . . .

. . . . having expired flares on board.

All the other items are easy to keep track of.  Lifevests.  Check.  Registration numbers on boat.  Check.  VHF radio working.  Check.  But, everyone forgets to check the expiration date on their flares. 

Which begs the question: What does one do with expired flares?

We'd never lighted a flare before.  But, hey, it was expired!!!!  It seems silly to light a flare when we didn't need any help.  No S.O.S. here.  But, now we know that flares don't burn in water.  They are bright.  They are hot in your hand.  We think that they burn for 13 minutes.  I hope help is closeby if we need it!