CRUISING MATTERS

The CA’s Regulatory & Technical Services group (RATS) provides regulatory and technical advice, guidance and know-how to CA members and the wider cruising community. RATS regularly updates CA members on the latest developmentsin the world of cruising via the CA website, monthly newsletter and the quarterly Cruising magazine - as well as providing bespoke answers to individual member queries. This service supports all members, wherever they are in the world.

Here RATS shares insights on some of the recent issues impacting the cruising community:

Flare Recall - On 1 January 2023, a Dutch sailor was killed by a malfunctioning flare during a passage in the Pacific Ocean. The sailor fired the flare just after midnight to celebrate the New Year. Unfortunately, despite being deployed correctly, the flare malfunctioned and, despite the efforts of the crew, the sailor died shortly after the incident.

The flare was manufactured by the Spanish company LECEA and was a rocket parachute flare (model L-35) from a batch manufactured in 2021. These flares are only sold in Spain and the malfunctioning flare was most likely purchased in Gran Canaria before the start of the ARC in November 2021. LECEA has issued a recall of these flares. The Dutch water safety board has also issued a warning.

RATS recommends that CA members check that they are not in possession of the recalled flares. In the UK, pyrotechnic flares must be carried as a legal requirement if your boat is longer than 13.7m. Otherwise, owners can decide if flares should be on board. Other means of communication, including VHF radios, mobile phones, internet phones and EPIRBs or PLBs, should generally be used in emergency situations. And certainly flares should never be fired to celebrate the New Year.

Calor Gas - Calor Gas has officially withdrawn the 4.5kg butane bottle. After a couple of years of poor availability Calor UK has officially announced that it is withdrawing the Cube, 3.9kg propane, 4.5kg butane, 6 litre propane and 12kg butane cylinders. It will not refund the deposit on empty cylinders unless you have the original paperwork.

Many older British boats have lockers especially designed to take the 4.5kg butane bottles. Their only choice may now be to use the Campingaz 907, which holds just 2.72kg of gas and last year was costing as much as £50 for an exchange cylinder. If the gas locker can be enlarged, without of course compromising safety, other alternatives may be available from

Led by the Regulatory and Technical Services group (RATS), this CA talk at 1900hrs on 8 March will feature a number of short presentations with the focus on advice cruisers can use in practice. RATS will share updates on several live topics including orcas, cruising through windfarms, cruising in Europe now including the latest on VAT and the Recreational Craft Directive, followed by a Q&A session.

The RATS Seminar is open to members and non-members; you can attend in-person at CA House, London or watch live on Zoom. Find out more and book at www.theca.org.uk/events/ca-london-lecture-080323 companies such as Safefill (whose cylinders can be refilled relatively cheaply, but not always easily, at an LPG filling station) or Flogas, which offers a butane cylinder of a similar size to the Calor 4.5kg. CA members can access information on alternatives via the CA forums. Currently UK availability of smaller gas bottles is patchy and exchange options in marine locations may be limited.

Calor said: “Improving our cylinder service is a priority. Our existing range of cylinders is creating complexity within our supply chain. This means longer change-over times and reduced filling capacity on high