Flags
very bad form to fl y more than one club burgee at a time (it can be interpreted as insult – even if un-intended – for all the clubs whose burgee is not at the top of the string). Some clubs in their byelaws absolutely forbid it. Some clubs insist that the burgee is fl own only from the masthead, never from some inferior position – such as under the spreader, or tied to the rigging. Sailing yachters tend to have most problems with such a rule, given the plethora of aerials, whirligigs and wands at the masthead these days, and weird and ingenious are some of the solutions because, all said and done, a burgee at the masthead really does look the business. It shows the owner takes a measure of pride whereas – to this author’s eye at least – a burgee strung-up under the spreader looks just, well... tatty, somehow. Motor boaters, of course, have no such problem.
When to fl y There is no law that says when a fl ag must go up or down – but there is tradition, based as so much else on naval practice. In the Royal Navy a ship’s identifying pennant remains fl ying throughout her period in commission, whether at sea or in port, whether by night or by day. Her ensign likewise remains displayed whether by night or by day when she is at sea. In harbour the ensign goes up at 0800 in the morning (0900 between 1st 31st
October and March) and comes down at 2100 or sunset, whichever is the
earlier. Being the Navy and generally preferring to do things in an all- together-now sort of way warships gathered together or in port take
Facts O
Sending the Message
ne very special set of fl ags exist to send not just one but any message you
wish. They are the 40 uniquely different fl ags that go to make up the International Signal Code: one fl ag for each letter of the alphabet, three so-called Substitutes (used to repeat a letter that has already been used in the signal), ten numeral pennants (long thin fl ags to distinguish them for the square letter fl ags) and the curiously- named Answering Pennant, a long thin red-and-white fl ag used to signal that the receiving ship has understood the signal just made by the sending ship. Rather than spelling out every message there are in existence any number of recognised codes, where combinations of different fl ags are used to send a specifi c signal or have a specifi c meaning. The most widely used is the International Code of Signals, which uses single fl ag, two-fl ag and three-fl ag ‘hoists’ (combinations) to communicate the message. It can be rather fun – and indeed very useful - knowing some of these; and indeed embarrassing not doing so. Imagine the surprise on the yacht that displayed fl ag M (blue with a white cross) to indicate to the approaching fl eet of racing yachts that they were the next mark when a fast naval launch pulled up alongside bearing a keen young surgeon sub-lieutenant eager to whip out someone’s appendix. In the International Code fl ag M means ‘I require a doctor’, while under the Racing Rules of Sailing fl ag M means ‘go round me or the mark I replace’. Some common IC signals worth knowing
are fl ag A (white with blue swallow tail) which means ‘take care – I have a diver down’, often displayed along with the two-fl ag hoist R+Y (red with a yellow cross above yellow-and-red diagonal stripes) which means ‘pass by me slowly’. Navies have their own code, and if you
ever see a British warship fl ying the Answering Pennant above one or more letter fl ags it means she is working in International Code, not the Navy’s own, different, code.
their cue from the senior ship (i.e. the ship with the most senior captain) or the senior offi cer of the port. Most yacht clubs, especially those that place emphasis on good
fl ag etiquette, follow naval tradition and timing – and many a yachtsman who reckons it doesn’t matter a toss has arrived back on board in the dark hours to fi nd his ensign tied in a knot by someone who does. But whatever fl ag you fl y – enjoy it. Remember that the
answer to the question ‘how big should my fl ag be?’ is: ‘the bigger the better’. CY
54 cywinter 2011
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