Ensign question

ezra_

A while back, I was chatting to an ex naval officer who was introducing me to the etiquette of flags.

However, what ensign should an Irish boat fly (and what should a visiting yacht be flying as a courtesy flag?). Looking on the net, there seems to be a couple that look like they haven' t been updated since the Easter rising.

I know that each yacht club has an ensign, but is something like the UK's red ensign which applies to all civilian boats?

noby

The tricolour is also our ensign.

ezra_

Thanks for that.

So you should be flying the tricolour, as opposed to your local club's ensign?

(the things that seem important on a dry friday evening)

noby

Or both. Ensign from the stern, club burgee from the, I think, starboard spreader.


I'm sure others might know more and correct me.

HeidiHeidi

noby wrote: »

Or both. Ensign from the stern, club burgee from the, I think, starboard spreader.

Other way around I think.

A and the ensign should be higher (on stbd side) than any other flag if you're a visitor.

That's my understanding of it anyway!

noby

Ah, right. I always flew the ensign from the stern, but I don't have a club burgee.

HeidiHeidi

noby wrote: »

Ah, right. I always flew the ensign from the stern, but I don't have a club burgee.

Now I'm thinking you're right if you're an Irish boat in Ireland.

My arrangement would be for foreign visiting boats. They would definitely fly the tricolour high stbd as a courtesy flag.

All very complicated!

ezra_

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Now I'm thinking you're right if you're an Irish boat in Ireland.

My arrangement would be for foreign visiting boats. They would definitely fly the tricolour high stbd as a courtesy flag.

All very complicated!

Required in some countries I think, but not here.

pedroeibar1

A vessel must be registered before it can fly an ensign or national flag; it is flown from the stern.

Some clubs have been granted permission (called a warrant) to have their own ensigns which replace the national flag. The same rules apply, from memory the vessel must be longer than 20 feet. In Ireland a club ensign incorporates the tricolour in the hoist (i.e. the top corner nearest the flagstaff) and the plain part of the ensign may contain other symbols (the fly? the exact name escapes me…….) e.g. in the RStGYC it is a crown, in the RIYC it is a harp.

A burgee is a totally different ‘flag’ and is flown from the masthead. It can be a house burgee (personal/corporate) or a club burgee. A jack is flown from a staff on the foredeck.

When a visiting yacht arrives in a foreign port it flies its club or national ensign from the stern and from the starboard crosstrees it flies the national flag of the host country and directly below that it flies the “Q” flag (plain yellow) until it clears customs/quarantine at which time the Q flag is removed.

The ensign should not be flown before dawn or after dusk. However, like the deterioration of manners and common courtesy in general, most of these rules are being ignored and even when adhered to are not recognized by many. (except for old f's like me, who honour traditions and know it's a compliment or correct procedure when one of the older boatment bring one to the starboard side, not port.)