A Discussion on
Flying Burgees
(Please feel free to join this discussion
at the bottom of this article)
Having developed over many years etiquette
in any form tends to be a very touchy subject. “This is the way it has always
been done.” As opposed to: “Times have changed and so should the way things are
done.”
For many yachties Burgee Etiquette is just
such a touchy subject. So rather than trying to impose one opinion over
another, it is hoped to start a fruitful discussion, and then try to attain a
consensus of what is ‘acceptable’ given today’s circumstances. I suppose, with
the last few words of the preceding sentence, I have attempted to set the tone
of where I believe this discussion will wind up. However, I do believe and
agree that there should be some uniformity on what is done.
Flying personal signals and burgees is
something that has evolved over many centuries – along with the evolution of
ships and pleasure craft. Along with the vessel’s national flag or ensign as
well as any courtesy flag flown while visiting a foreign port these ore some of
the flags a ship’s captain might and in most instances should fly while aboard
his or her vessel. Secondary to any national flags, these are both signals that
show a captain’s affiliation or loyalty. They are thus important and should indeed
be prominently displayed. Hence the traditional positioning of the burgee or
personal signal at or above the mast top(s) using what is known as a pig stick.
In recent times many people have ceased
flying their club’s burgee or their own personal signal, as this tends to get
tangled with the various instruments and antennae atop their mast. I find this
to be a serious quandary. We are proud to be members of our yacht club, and we
also wish to fly our personal signal. In fact, I think every vessel should
where possible show their affiliation and loyalty whenever possible. One might
even construe that it is an affront to the club to not fly its burgee.
|
- A pig stick is hauled up the mast using
a spare halyard or a dedicated flag halyard if it is not long enough it
will most assuredly get tangled with the mast top electronics – The VHF
antenna extends a meter (3 feet) above the mast.
- A very long (at least 3 meters or 10
foot) long pig stick keeps the burgee free from the electronics.
In both A & B it is difficult to haul the pig stick up or down in
anything but light air.
- As an alternative to the pig stick, a
vertical gaff with a flag halyard can be attached to the mast. The only
difficulty arises when the burgee is raised or lowered, when it may
tangle in the electronics.
|
Following are several extracts of expert
opinions as found online. There are some interesting contradictions in these,
but there is also room for consensus. Most do agree that there are alternatives
to where the burgee may be flown. John Rousmaniere, in his comprehensive flag
etiquette article published on Sailnet.com (see excerpt below) illustrates two
possible places besides the masthead. Below the starboard spreader on the main
mast having become the most prevalent. Many people agree with his thesis. The
RYA does go one step further, which solves another dilemma many vessels
including our own face: where to fly a secondary burgee or burgees. Their
assertion is simply from the port spreader.
Opinions found
online:
New York Yacht Club
“Only one yacht club burgee should be flown
at any one time. If you are in the home waters of one yacht club, you should
fly that yacht club's burgee. If you are in "neutral" waters, you can
fly either burgee. If you are in neutral waters, but on a cruise sponsored by a
yacht club, however, you should fly that yacht club's burgee. I consulted the
New York Yacht Club's highest authorities in researching this question.”
Bill Watson, Librarian
Eastern Yacht Club (Marblehead, Mass.)
“Proper etiquette for flying a club burgee
is not to fly more than one at a time. While in port at a particular club, one
should fly the appropriate burgee to the yacht club that one belongs to. If a
dual membership to clubs in the same port exists a choice must be made to fly
one or the other. The above is opinion based on questioning members of the
Eastern Yacht Club, as well as, information on pages 581 through 590 of the
1999 Chapman's Piloting. Aside from flying flags, members of multiple clubs and
organizations often display crossed burgees on the varnished nameplates on
their vessels. I have seen as many as four different clubs represented on one
yacht.”
Michael S. Smith, Dockmaster
San Diego Yacht Club
“When vessels owners belong to more than
one yacht club, only one burgee is flown; usually the club's where the yacht is
based. However there are exceptions: A. When a vessel is, for instance from
SDYC NHYC and also belongs to Catalina Island Yacht club; this vessel would fly
the Catalina burgee while in the vicinity of Catalina. B. If the vessel
belongs to SFYC and SBYC; based at SFYC but participating in a SBYC event {no
matter where} it should display the SBYC burgee. In summary, only one burgee
is flown depending on the location and /or the event.”
John X. Tsirimokos, Protocol Advisor for
the San Diego Yacht Club.
Seattle Yacht Club
“The short answer if you are a sailor the
highest place of honor is the starboard halyard on spreader. You decide which
is the senior club, in your mind. Other pennants would be flown under it in
declining order of importance, e.g. when in Canada, you fly the Canadian
courtesy flag on top, then the SYC burgee and then your officer’s or house
burgee.”
Sailonline.com
“The Burgee is a small flag displaying the
symbol of the skipper's yacht club or other sailing organization. It may be
flown day and night. Most people opt to fly the burgee lower in the rig,
hoisted to the end of the lowest starboard spreader on a thin flag halyard.
While purists rail this practice, it is an accepted adaptation of another
tradition, which is that the starboard rigging is a position of honor (when you
visit a foreign port, that's where we fly the host country's flag). Besides
being reasonable, flying the burgee in the starboard rigging is such a
widespread custom that to try to end it would be close to impossible.
The Private Signal is a small,
custom-designed and custom-made flag that carries symbols standing for the
owner, so it can basically be anything. The signal may be flown day or night,
but is not displayed when another sailor is in command. (The rule is: the
private signal and burgee follow the sailor, not the boat.) On a multi-masted
boat, the private signal is flown at the head of the aftermost mast. On a
sloop, the private signal may be flown from the starboard rigging, either below
the burgee or alone.”
Bob Schimmel found on Geocities.com
“Almost every Yacht Club has a unique
Burgee (flag) that identifies a member's boat. A modern sloop rigged sailing
vessel should fly their burgee from a lanyard under the starboard mast
spreader, while an older style sailing vessel flies the burgee from the main
masthead. Powerboats fly their burgee from a short staff on the bow.”
Alberta Offshore Sailing Association
“Most yacht clubs have a unique burgee
(triangular flag) that identifies a member's boat. A modern sloop rigged
sailing vessel should fly it's burgee from a lanyard under the starboard
spreader. On an older style sailing vessel the burgee is flown from the main
masthead. A Powerboat flies its burgee from a short staff on the bow.”
Abstracted from an article "Flags
for Yachtsmen", Yachting Magazine, September 1981
“Single masted sailboats normally have
three possible locations from which to display flags - the masthead, the
starboard spreader and aft (the mainsail leech or the stern staff). Underway
under sail alone, the traditional recipe has been that the burgee appears at
the masthead and the ensign at the gaff or two-thirds the way up the leech of
the main. An organizational flag, a courtesy flag when in foreign waters or a
signal may appear at the spreader hoist.
The ensign has migrated from the mainsail
leech to the stern staff, a move formally recognized in the early '70s by both
the New York YC and the USYRU. Purists resisted the change, but it seems safe
to say that a vast majority of Bermudian sloops now carry their ensigns at the
stern under sail or power.
Another change that's taking place - albeit
unrecognized by any authority - but now apparently standard, is the descent of
the burgee from the masthead to the starboard spreader. Now that most mastheads
have become electronics forests, it has become not only difficult but
potentially expensive to plant a flag among all the delicate feelers.”
John Rousmaniere; Sailnet.com
“Traditionally, the burgee is flown at the
head (top) of the forward most mast on a small pole (called a pig stick)
hoisted on a light halyard (flag halyard). Hoisting a pig stick is an art. When
sailing on a beam reach, pull it up quickly on the leeward side, then pull down
hard on the halyard to steady and straighten the stick. The halyard may be
secured on the mast (at the risk of clanging against it), on a cleat on a
shroud (which may foul jib sheets)—my preference is to make it fast to a toggle
or turnbuckle at the bottom of a shroud.
We don't see masthead burgees much these
days because flying them up there risks damaging some expensive equipment and
destroying the flag with chafe. This is why many people opt to fly the burgee
lower in the rig, hoisted to the end of the lowest starboard spreader on a flag
halyard. While this practice is decried by purists, it is a reasonable
adaptation of another tradition, which is that the starboard rigging is a
position of honor (when we visit a foreign port, that's where we fly the host
country's flag). Besides being reasonable, flying the burgee in the starboard
rigging is so widespread a custom that to try to end it would be like
attempting to hold back the tide. Opposing popular usage is rarely successful
in any activity, and never in the field of communications, where relevance
triumphs over tradition. In this case, the new tradition is more relevant than
the old one, which was developed by sea captains and long-ago yachtsmen who
never had to deal with VHF antennas.
There's a third possibility for the burgee
that makes good sense. This is to fly it from a short flag staff (called a jack
staff) on the center of the bow pulpit. There the flag is visible on both tacks
(unlike the starboard rigging), and won't damage any equipment. A forward
location for the burgee on a short staff is common in powerboats. Oddly, it's
rarely seen on sailboats even though it's approved by the most stringent of all
guides to flag etiquette, the Yacht Routine of the New York Yacht Club.”
The Royal Yachting Association
“Flag etiquette is a combination of law,
good manners and tradition. Being ill-informed of your obligations could lead
you to cause insult at home or abroad by giving a signal you do not intend to
give, or could lead you to a fine for breaking the law.
It is now common practice to fly the burgee
at the starboard spreaders, however, no other flag may be flown above the
burgee on the same halyard. You also may not fly any other flag above a
national courtesy flag on the same halyard. If you fly your burgee at the
starboard spreaders and are sailing in the territorial waters of another
country you have a dilemma, however you choose to solve this, unless you fly
your burgee at the top of the mast you will be contravening one or another
element of flag etiquette.
House flags are flown from the port
spreaders. A house flag may indicate membership of an association (i.e. the RYA
House Flag) or society or may be to indicate membership of another club, if the
burgee of a more senior club is already being flown. More than one house flag
may be flown on the port halyard, but with caution that they are flown in order
of seniority.”
|
This ketch is flying a national courtesy
flag below her main mast starboard spreader, three yacht club burgees from
her port spreader, and a personal signal from the mizzen starboard spreader. |
This yawl is flying a burgee from a pig
stick atop her main mast and a personal signal from a pig stick atop her
mizzen. |
|
Related Stories
Coastal Boating (Reg. in Ireland No. 443222) is a division of Knowledge Clinic Ltd.
