[Talisker]

And I've seen situations as an Auxiliarist where people needed flares, and needed the correct number of life jackets. The regulations aren't there to annoy you; they're to make sure if things go wrong, you can help yourself.

You actually believe "that's why the regulations are there" - "to make sure if things go wrong, you can help yourself"?

I stand speechless before such naivete'.

You might get a lot of mileage in front of Boy Scouts, but my advice is to stay out of political discussions.

Oh and please, just spare me the rock-obvious safety talk, m'kay?

[Cicero]

Yeah. Over the course of many years, I’ve broken down a few times, and the obvious thing is to get people to wave to a passing boat and have the kids jump up and down while you do it. Who wants to mess with flares in a boat? Conceivably there might be an occasion to use one, but I’ve never seen it.

There’s a coast guard academy not far from where we stay, and I’ve known a few people who went there. They start out with a genuine love of the sea and boats, but most of them seem to end up as bureaucrats. Like traffic policemen, their chief interest seems to be fining people—presumably because those are the boss’s orders.

[af_vet_rr]

You actually believe "that's why the regulations are there" - "to make sure if things go wrong, you can help yourself"?

I stand speechless before such naivete'.

Back when I was stationed in Alaska, I had a buddy who got in trouble and ended up in a life raft with his wife and in-laws. This was before everybody had GPS or personal locator beacons that could guide rescue folks to within a few hundred feet. He wasn't able to give them precise coordinates and they had a large area to search.

He, his wife, and her parents might not be alive if it weren't for flares.

This wasn't even at night, either.

[GAB-1955]

I’ve also had to help in recoveries of bodies where people didn’t take care of those basic safety talks.

Those “naive” regulations helped save my brother and niece’s life in a boating accident.

Say all you want - the world is full of careless boaters and they need the regs.