Burgees and defaced ensigns
Any member of the club is entitled to use a club burgee on any sail or motor yacht or dinghy they may be aboard. There are, however, a number of conditions relating to the flying of the club's defaced blue ensign.
Burgees are available in a range of sizes from 12" to 36" (on the fly) suitable for most sizes of craft (as a guide an 18" fly burgee is recommended for a 10m boat). Burgees should ordinarily be flown from the masthead, or if not then from the next most senior position available. (Usually the starboard spreader, except if displaying a courtesy ensign when the burgee should be flown from the port spreader.) Orders should be placed with the office and payment in advance is required.
To obtain an ensign, in the first instance a qualifying member must apply for a "permit" from the club office. A qualifying member is one who is:
- a full "guaranteeing" member of the club of more than 12 months standing
- a British subject.
To be eligible to receive a permit a qualifying member must own a yacht registered under either Part 1 or Part 3 of the Register of British Ships which is a minimum of 2grt (Part I registered) or 7m LH (Part 3 registered). The permit is issued in the name of the owner/member and the specific yacht. The yacht in question must not be used for any commercial purpose or be a houseboat.
Members will need to provide a copy of the photo page of their British passport and of the yacht's registration document with their application.
Once the permit is obtained the ensign should be ordered via the office. The ensign should only be flown:
- on the yacht to which the permit relates
- when the owner is either on board or ashore but in effective control of the yacht
- when the permit is carried on board.
In the case of jointly owned yachts or yachts owned by limited companies or for any other clarification please contact the Club office.
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