Looking back on the night's events, what is the main lesson for the crew of SUNBEAM?

A. Only flares set off by other boats known personally to the crew should ever be reported

B. Always treat any flare seen at sea as genuine and report it promptly, regardless of how it turns out — and separately, always treat your own flares as serious safety equipment, never as something to set off for fun or dispose of casually

C. Reporting a flare that turns out to be misuse means the skipper should be more hesitant to report next time

D. Flares seen at sea can usually be safely ignored unless a second one follows shortly after

A. Assume it is probably just someone messing about and ignore it completely

B. Only react if the flare is white rather than red, since red flares are never serious

C. Treat it as a genuine distress signal until proven otherwise — note the position and time, and make a Mayday relay or alert the Coastguard on VHF Channel 16, since any flare seen at sea must be assumed real until confirmed otherwise

D. Wait at least an hour to see if a second flare follows before doing anything

A. Just say "I saw a flare" with no further detail, since the Coastguard will work out everything else themselves

B. Wait until reaching harbour the next day to mention it in person

C. Refuse to give a position, since the flare did not come from SUNBEAM

D. The boat's own position, the approximate bearing and distance to where the flare was seen, the time, the colour/type of flare if known, and a description of the other vessel if visible