Questions About Cruising Etiquette
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Which Ensign (2007)
Question: I liked the beautiful twilight photo of your boat in
Hare Bay, Newfoundland in this month's Cruising
World, and I showed it to a friend who's been
reading a manual on marine flag etiquette. He asked me
what flag you're flying on the backstay... and if the
boat is an American registered boat from the US east
coast, why the flag looks like a British naval ensign
instead of an American flag. I suggested maybe the
boat is registered in Bermuda and so the flag on the
backstay is a Bermuda ensign. He bet me a beer...
could you help us by explaining the flag?
Answer:
Looks like you win a beer! We are from Bermuda, one of
the last of the British Crown Colonies, and the flag
is a "defaced red ensign". A plain red ensign is flown
by British merchant navy ships. The ensign we fly is
the flag of Bermuda, which is a red ensign defaced
with the Bermuda coat of arms on the fly.
I wish I could tell you that the flag was hauled down
immediately after the photo was taken, but to be
honest Phyllis and are not really very good at the
whole flag etiquette thing. The exception is that we
are always careful to fly the flag of a country we are
visiting (courtesy flag) at the starboard spreader,
figuring that it is the least we can do as guests in
the country.
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Last
edited on
Saturday December 01, 2007
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Decisions to cruise the high latitudes, where you go, and how
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but that does not mean it will work for you, or that it is the
best, or even a good way for you to do things. |
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