As a former racing man I have always regarded any flag on the back of a boat as unnecessary windage and a waste of a good laminar air flow.
However, a flagstaff would make a great place to put a camera attached to a gorillapod of some sort
It also occurred to me that the right flag against the right background might give me a few more shots.
So.... I have come to the conclusion that Katie L should have a flag of some sort. Maybe she should have a few which has got me looking around for candidates
I live in Buckinghamshire
but our county flag has an element of the Fascist about it in some way
I did my first sailing in Essex and spent much of my youth there
Far topo warlike and Sinbad for my liking
then there is Suffolk where I went to School
Yeuch!
I am a Londoner by birth
but people would assume I am a football fan
then of course there is the only flag that I should fly - which is the Red Ensign
it can look like a tatty duster - aesthetically it does not cut the mustard - especially when the wind is blowing in the wrong direction
I quite like the Royal Standard
but that would really upset a few people
the one I really like the look of is this one - it tells the story of my mongrel race
I am jealous of the Yanks, canadians and most of our European neighbours who can just go ahead and fly their national Flag.
I am open to suggestions chaps
and - how big should it be
Dylan
The dusters fine!
Being really silly, you could take the signal flags for KTL and design your own flag (good talking point when having a yarn over a drink or two on a mooring).
How about a pair of Y-fronts? haha
Red Ensign. You Brits have very much to be proud of
Go with the Red Ensign, nothing wrong with that and the ensign has been used by sailors from around 1700. One of my ensigns is made of very light nylon material and it serves very well as a wind device for the low wind days.
I was going to recommend the Island and your route…but I am a few posts too late…so I’ll Second it. Or you could do a family search and dig up a crest to your liking.
Safest to use the Red ensign – it avoids the fine (£2,000 I think) which (with your luck) you would probably get from a passing admiral …!
You can be fined for using the wrong flag? Its quite a bit more relax here in the states. Most private vessels don’t fly anything and those that do are sometimes pretty strange. I have noticed though that skippers of sail boats are more inclined to follow flag ettiquette than skippers of power boats.
I think you should design your own KTL flag. then you can make it as you like it then. or ask for ideas?
While most of us Yanks do (improperly) fly the National flag – by yacht etiquette it should only be the US Yacht Ensign – which looks a lot like the National flag with the original 13 stars in a circle.
Fly the red ensign!
TomH – Salem, Mass, USA
Welsh flag. Best flag in the world….It’s got a dragon on it.
After sailing under the Red Duster for nearly 20 years in the Merchant Navy, I was never more proud to see that flag flying in a foreign port. Fly the Red Ensign! By the way Dylan, if you can find an old one made out of traditional bunting, it will fly much better than crappy nylon ones made in China!
Cheers
Its all cut and dried, ie:
The blue ensign is by Royal appointment
The white ensign is The Royal Navy
So its the red ensign, no question
I agree with Tim Haney’s comment above. I am a “Yank” but I would gladly fly the Red Duster if I were you. It is a beautiful flag.
I like the idea of a personal crest. I like the swan flag. My crest is a swan with key in beak. Would look good on blue field. But being that I have a red Falcon on the mainsail, that might be too many birds.
I have been flying the flag of maritime Scotland before the Union. Red feild with the Saltair in the hoist corner. Supprise! the Miami flag maker knew the flag. You should have seen it in the pics I sent you of ‘Carrifran Falcon’ in the Apalachacola Classic Boat Show. If you are going to fly the red ensign, then you still should have your own ‘house flag’ ( that’s am American yacht term).
Personally, I’d hang on for while. If the Scottish people vote for independence we may be required to have new Union Flags and Red Ensigns without the Saltire. Any cruising types with a sewing machine on board?
Cheers,
Dave