Manners and customs of the sea


Years ago, all who went to sea served some sort of apprenticeship, whether formal or casual, and a lad’s elders and betters instilled in him a respect for ‘the way things were done’. Failure to uphold these forms of behaviour invited ridicule and perhaps a clip around the weather ear. Thus, the established modus operandi passed on through the generations. It is only now that the maritime community has widened that such issues need to be written down. The spread of yachting and power boating has brought its own conventions. Some are inherited from commercial seafarers, others apply to us alone but, whichever is the case, to ignore them renders us liable to that uncomfortable feeling that we are ‘not doing things right’. Nobody wants to stand out for this reason, so a number of the more important questions are highlighted here.


National ensigns


All yachts must wear the ensign of their country of registry. International law requires any vessel that ‘goes foreign’ to be on a national register. This is not an option. It is a legal requirement. However, a British yacht may fly the Red Ensign without troubling the UK Shipping Registrar if it is intended that she stay in home waters.


Types of Ensign


Some countries do not use their national flag for a sea ensign. Among these is the United Kingdom. Here, a plethora of ensigns of special design may be found in a typical yacht harbour. However, they all stem from three basic forms:


Defaced ensigns


A defaced Red Ensign and a defaced Blue Ensign are all called ‘privileged’ ensigns. Defaced means that the ensign has a badge on it. Certain yacht clubs are authorised by warrant to wear a specific one of these or, in certain cases, an undefaced blue ensign. A privileged ensign may never be worn without its associated club burgee.


Blue Ensign – An undefaced Blue Ensign is a privileged ensign and may never be worn without its associated club burgee.


White Ensign – The only yachts entitled to fly the white are those whose owners are members of the Royal Yacht Squadron.


Red Ensign – The National Maritime Ensign of the UK Shipping Register. Worn by all commercial craft and yachts unless they fall into the categories below.


132 | MANUAL OF SEAMANSHIP


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