One of the most recognizable flags we have is Old Glory and the only reason she is so idolize is because we all think we know what she stands for. If a ease up that is flown without anyone ‘s agreement is it a useful flag ? After all, a signal or message is only utilitarian if person is there to understand it. a lot like fog signals, if a automobile horn blows and no one knows what it means, is it actually a signal or just noise pollution ? But deep in the annals of the internet, I found several uses for signal flags that have otherwise been forgotten and it is because they have been forgotten by the masses that their function is brought into question. All excessively much now, sign flags are reserved for senior citizen sailors with their weekend baron squadron exercises and colorful adornment for the local anesthetic Yacht Club Martini Mixer. Signal flags harken spinal column to a bygone era before VHF and cell phones. At one time, flags were the cornerstone of every well operated ship or military unit ’ s communication system, signaling maneuvers, emergencies and other general information for gang and comrades to receive with reverence and trepidation .
Racing Signals
First astir, its racing signals. Spend enough time in the beer can races and you ‘re bound to see a committee boat sporting a few signal flags every once in a while. They are used to indicate information about races and course changes to a fleet. They are far more functional than a radio in a dinghy race, as lasers tend to flip and vhfs tend to sink. so using a signal masthead for all to see is much more effective and surely a long ton more piquant. I sourced this description of racing meanings from sailing flags here. Most big mention yacht clubs and racing syndicates use flags and horns in a regatta to some degree or another, but only the most leading do therefore with any kind of standardize manner. broadly speaking the more hoity toity the yacht club, the more they use flags in their races because they want to ( a ) be elitist and ( barn ) can afford to buy the flags which retail for big bucks. But if you find yourself aboard a committee boat in South Africa you best review the flags at the connect above – but for everyone else, here ’ s a sample :
Common Flags
While the race global has co-opt the consumption of flags for regatta, there remains other uses for signal flags which if your grok can be quite useful when cruising to strange International ports of call or miraculously time travel to the decks of a World War II aircraft mailman. These uses have included the most normally known flags such as the diver down flag or Alpha sag and the courtesy flags which don ’ t seem to have any standardize mean at all but are used in all sorts of ports from Berma to Bimini. And in this day and historic period, external cruisers are well aware of the ‘ Q ” iris which is used to indicate that a newly arrived vessel is rid of disease. In other times this masthead meant a “ quarantine ” was in effect for your boat when arriving in new ports of call but that signal has been replaced by the Lima Flag indicating that one is to stop all operations immediately. If you aim to island hop in the little latitudes you would be well to understand and commit these most normally used flags to memory, but barely in event, hang on to the others in the binding of your mind. You can get a big run down of the flags by looking at any Sea Scouting Manual or by going here .
Buying Signal Flags
If you want to run out and get yourself a fructify of bespeak flags, be mindful that there are lots of brassy knock offs and many that aren ’ triiodothyronine worth the $ 300 price tag they soak you for at your local marina. Signal flags should be made of durable analyze or nylon. Brass grommets and hardy cotton lines should be separate of the package and make indisputable they are large enough to be seen from a outdistance. Those short 6 column inch jobs don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate switch off it from a sea mile and half off though sea spray and blow sandpaper. mine are at least 36 ” long and can be seen from Space if Google always decides to look my way again. I must admit I love my flags. I inherited an about complete fix from a gravy boat that I dreamed of restoring that was raced in the Washington DC area for 20 years. When I pulled them out the stink-drenched hull, they smelled like diesel and were coated with black mold. But a soak in laundry detergent and an air in a stiff Carolina cinch on a cheery day and they were much more adequate. so a lot so that my wife didn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate make me throw them out. I used them to celebrate the holidays by dressing ship in my hunter at Cape Lookout on the 4rth of July and Labor Day and as a selling gambit to get people to want to take sailing lessons from me on the waterfront of Beaufort. I dreamed of stringing them up the movement and devour to the austere in my 42 ’ endeavour but alas Hurricane Florence took her before I could ever dress her up, so I stuck them in storage in a laundry basket and will use them once I acquire my dream boat, a 60 foot catamaran from Australia. Given that they are therefore expensive, $ 315 for a small set from Landfall Navigation I would suggest reading the manufacturer ’ s methods on wish.
Read more: What is the Maritime Industry?
Caring For Your Flags
Make certain you let them dry out before packing them away, even on a cheery day. The mere fact that they are flown by the water system means they will acquire moisture that will rot them in a count of days if packed away wet. I would besides suggest you treat them as you would your sails .
- A ennoble detergent and lots of fresh urine every spring and fall .
- Fly them regularly to make certain they don ’ thymine get cadaver or dry decomposition .
- Pack them in a raincoat cup of tea or lug and if you can find them, throw in a few packs of those silica desiccants to dry up any ambient moisture and keep them fresh .
- You can besides treat them with tea tree anoint to inhibit mold and mildew growth and slow down languish .
Dressing ship
now let ’ s lecture about “ dressing embark ”. There is a means to do it and a way not to do it. besides many lines and halyards can create havoc on a long-winded day and the worst is if one comes untie and you fly your halyard. My recommendation is use your jibe halyard and attach it to the middle of the string of flags and pull the flags up that way, bow and aft. You can run one string up the forestay with the jib halyard and one up the second stay with the independent halyard but then you have no main halyard to fly Old Glory off the back stay and double your chances of flying your halyard if something goes wrong. Some say you should alternate number pennants and letter flags, but I say use what you got and fly em proudly. If you ’ re on the bobtail, prep your flags on the dock or in a grassy sphere, but if you have to do it on the deck of your gravy boat, watch out indeed that they don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate blow overboard. Most of the time I have used them, they attach one to the other with a loop and wooden punch. You slide the loop of one over the idle of the future and continue with the like radiation pattern until you have enough to reach from your bow to mast lead to stem. Make sure the first one is correct side up and all the others should be right. Run the flags, up to your mast and then down to your grim. If your gravy boat has a bunch of freeboard and you have a lot of flags, you might even attach a sinker to the loose end of the bottomland flag at your buttocks and submit. It ‘s kind of a show off thing to do and people might look at you with a bit of envy or disgust depending on your nothing code, but this room you can show how big your gravy boat is and how much money you have. just make certain you cleat off the string of flags that is up the mast before you hang one to the waterline or the whole string will fly up in a breeze and wrapping around your mast .
When To Dress Ship
immediately when to dress ship ? basically whenever you want to wear a dress or tie, you should dress your ship besides. Ties are rarely welcome on a sailboat and dresses are only welcome if they are flowy and can blow up at the right moments – sol alternatively of getting dressed up, why preceptor ’ triiodothyronine you dress your transport alternatively ? I think any federal vacation is a dear time and every high vacation as well. Stick em up at Thanksgiving and don ’ t take em down until New Years Day and you ’ ll shroud all the cultural bases with minimal work. Birthdays and Anniversaries are always a great fourth dimension to do it and if you have the flags, spell out your husband ’ randomness name or the name of the birthday celebrant in flags. just make sure you tell everyone that is what you did, because most people don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate know what they mean. One of my front-runner Jimmy Buffet lyrics is when he is talking about the parentage of his beget in Havana Harbor and all the ships celebrate his give birth by dressing ship. In his birdcall “ False Echoes ” he writes ,
“ On the old Chicamauga the Signal Jacks flew
And the message they spelled out caused a capital ballyhoo
Every ship in Havana then hoisted away
All the pennants were ‘a flyin ‘ on my dad ‘s first birthday ”
man I was born at the amiss fourth dimension. then that ’ s my lease on signal flags and the sailor. If you got ‘ em, fly ‘ em and have fun with them. They do have meanings and if you decide to wander to St. Somewhere or aim to be the next Dennis Conner, you should credibly know what they mean. But for the pillow of us hera in mainland America, they are a breathtaking sight to behold when flown on person ’ second birthday or to celebrate the birth of our nation.
They are expensive and prone to mold and dry decomposition, so take care of them with regular wash and lots of fresh publicize. now that you know what they are and how to fly them, I hope to see lots of photos of boats dressed to the nines. Send them to us at LifeofSailing.com if you think of it, or share on Facebook and tag us in the photograph so we can see how you dress your embark. Thanks for reading and remember, do well, have fun and voyage far .
