royal yacht ensign

Yachting World

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Inside the Royal Yacht Squadron – we get a rare view of this most exclusive club

• Belinda Bird
• May 18, 2015

Sarah Norbury jumps at a rare chance to see inside the Royal Yacht Squadron, that unique and intriguing yacht club at the centre of Cowes, in its 200th anniversary year

Photo: Paul Wyeth

The Royal Yacht Squadron’s Castle clubhouse is best known to most sailors as the centre of the action at Cowes Week. Puffs of smoke in the aftermath of the bangs waft across the water towards the fleets of yachts, their crews’ faces pinched with concentration as they plan their beat up the rocky Island shore.

No first-timer to Cowes Week can fail to be awestruck by the Castle. Competitors mill around before their starts, staring at the flags and course-boards, getting a sight down the startline straight into the windows.

Looking is as near as most sailors ever get to this most aristocratic of clubs. Members will repair to the Squadron after racing, taking tea on the lawn, before entering the Castle for cocktails before a party or the fabulous Squadron Ball, but for the rest, the Castle itself, built by Henry VIII to repel the French, is a visual symbol of the club’s exclusivity.

The Platform, from where Cowes Week starts are signalled. Photo: YPS/Boat Exclusive

The most prestigious club in Britain, possibly the world, is wreathed in mystique. The only way to join this club of Kings, Lords, Hons and Sirs is to be invited by a member and be subject to a secret ballot. The fact that the membership list reads like Debretts is an indication of most sailors’ chances of being invited.

It’s said that wealthy tea merchant Sir Thomas Lipton was blackballed for being ‘in trade’, which is why his 1898 bid for the America’s Cup was sponsored by the Royal Ulster YC. He was allowed in eventually, but died just two years later so scarcely had time to enjoy the Castle’s delights.

Some accept a blackballing with grace, others kick up a stink, like the owner of a 150-ton schooner who, the story goes, sent a message to the club that he was anchored within close range and would commence shelling unless he received a personal apology from Percy Shelley, son of the famous poet, who had blackballed him.

Flying the white ensign

The appeal of being a member is obvious. Who wouldn’t want to fly the white ensign from their stern? The Squadron is the only yacht club with a Royal Navy warrant to do so, granted in 1829. And who wouldn’t want to walk boldly in to meet and drink with the great and the good?

I asked the current commodore, the Hon Christopher Sharples why, when a number of royal clubs are struggling to find new members, the Squadron has a healthy waiting list. “It’s a very fine club,” he responded. “People enjoy the standards and the tremendous history. Members treat the Castle as a much-loved country home.”

RYS commodore, the Hon Christopher Sharples

Originally named The Yacht Club, it was founded on 1 June 1815 by a group of 42 gentleman yachting enthusiasts. Five years later, member King George IV conferred the Royal in the club’s title and in 1833 King William IV renamed the club the Royal Yacht Squadron. Members met in the Thatched House Tavern in St James’s, London, and in Cowes twice a year for dinner.

Today there are 535 members and dinner is served in the magnificent Members’ Dining Room, under the painted gaze of illustrious past admirals and commodores. The room is adorned with silver trophies and scenes of the high seas, and waiters bring course after course from the kitchens and wine cellars below. There are bedrooms for overnight stays, a room for members to keep their ‘mess kit’ or black tie, which is required dress on Saturday nights, and even gun lockers for shooting parties.

But sailing is the club’s raision d’être and neither a title nor a fortune are a guarantee of entry. The club professes that “any gentleman or lady actively interested in yachting” is eligible for nomination.

The Library, a peaceful sanctuary as well as an important archive. Photo: YPS/Boat Exclusive

The Squadron was where yacht racing was born. In the early 1800s the aristocracy came to Cowes to socialise and cruise in their boats. The first races were duels between the yachts of the day, then rules for fleet racing were drawn up. The first club regatta, later to become Cowes Week, was in 1826. For more than a century the reigning monarch would be there to present the King’s or Queen’s trophy.

Some of history’s greatest yachtsmen are on the Squadron’s membership roll: Sir Thomas Sopwith, John Illingworth, Sir Francis Chichester, Sir Alec Rose, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. Ties with the Navy are strong and some of British maritime history’s most famous names have been Squadron members, not least Nelson’s vice-admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy who commanded HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, Admiral Lord Cochrane who was the inspriation for C.S. Forester’s Hornblower novels and Admiral Sir Jeremy Black, captain of the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible during the Falklands War.

The public’s more usual view

Perhaps the club is still best known around the world for hosting the race around the Isle of Wight in 1851 won by the schooner America , which took home what became known as the America’s Cup. The Squadron donated the Cup itself in 1851 and mounted a number of challenges to win it back.

More than 160 years later the America’s Cup has still never been won by a British challenger, but now the commodore believes the Royal Yacht Squadron has “the best chance we have ever had” with its sponsorship of Ben Ainslie Racing as official British challenger for the 2017 Cup.

• 1. Flying the white ensign
• 2. Bicentenary celebrations
• 3. Inside the Castle

The Royal Yacht Squadron - A History

Founded in 1815, the Royal Yacht Squadron is one of the most prestigious and exclusive yacht clubs in the world, and enjoys a rich history after more than 200 years. In 2016 a new history of the Royal Yacht Squadron was published by Unicorn Press, Making Waves Two Hundred Years of The Royal Yacht Squadron, described by Classic Boat magazine as ‘ a magnificent book ’ with ‘ stunning design ’. It can be bought from Unicorn Publishing Group.

Alternatively an in house produced "Royal Yacht Squadron - A Short History" is available here . 

The Yacht Club, as the Squadron was first known, was founded at the Thatched House Tavern in St James’s, London, on the 1st of June 1815. The qualification entitling a gentleman to become a member was the ownership of a vessel not under 10 tons. Today this is interpreted as a gentleman “ actively interested in yachting ”. A plain white burgee graced the masthead of members’ yachts; they also wore a plain white ensign with the union in the canton. In 1821 this was changed to a red burgee and ensign.

The Earl of Yarborough, later first Commodore of the Yacht Club, welcomed the Prince Regent as a member in 1817. In 1820, when the Prince Regent became George IV, Royal was added to the club’s name. The Club’s association with the Royal Navy began early and Nelson’s Captain at Trafalgar, Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy, was among early Honorary Naval members.

In 1826, the Club took to organising yacht racing as a principal feature of the annual regatta at Cowes. In 1828, the rule requiring a yacht on the port tack to give way to another on starboard was introduced.

During the 1840’s, in response to the formation of other yacht clubs, races open to non-RYS yachts were also introduced.

The spirit of invention induced by competition led to yachts “of such celerity in sailing and beauty of construction” that they were of utility to the Royal Navy. In 1829 the Admiralty issued a warrant to wear what is now the Navy’s white ensign. The burgee, in compliment, is differenced with a St George’s cross and crown. Lord Yarborough’s Falcon led a rally to Cherbourg in 1831. In 1833 the Club became the Royal Yacht Squadron by command of His Majesty King William IV.

Lord Wilton’s time as Commodore was full of incident and achievement. World-wide cruising continued to flourish. Ben Boyd, in his schooner Wanderer, visited the Solomon Islands and was devoured by cannibals. In the same year, 1851, Commodore Stevens, visiting the Great Exhibition, challenged for the Squadron’s £100 Cup for a race around the Island. America’s victory was witnessed by Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales, later Commodore and Edward VII.

The Marquess of Anglesea was so surprised at America’s speed that he thought she must have had a propeller. Deerhound RYS witnessed the sea fight between Kearsarge and Alabama. Gazelle RYS rescued the Empress Eugenie at the end of the Franco Prussian War and Squadron yachts took succour to the troops in the Crimea. Lord Brassey’s Sunbeam logged 37,000 nautical miles girdling the earth.

The Golden Age of Cowes was heralded by the election of the Prince of Wales as Commodore. There had been a chapter of disagreement between the newly fledged YRA, the Squadron and other old established clubs over racing rules. The YRA seemed to favour the racing machine, while the Squadron felt that cruising yachts should still have a look in.

The Prince would not tolerate further dissension and peace of a sort was in the air. The Squadron was not only forwarding new ideas to the YRA, but successfully beating all comers under the new rule with Sleuthhound, to be followed by the legendary and remodelled Bloodhound, whose mast is now the Squadron’s flag staff.

The German Emperor brought his Meteor, the 1887 ex America’s Cup challenger Thistle, to Cowes in 1892. This encouraged the Prince of Wales to build Britannia, one of the most successful racing yachts in the calendar. Lord Crawford’s beautiful ship rigged yacht Valhalla cruised far afield and was a noted visitor in Cowes Week; she was also a competitor in the 1905 Transatlantic Race for the German Emperor’s Cup. Her owner, a member with a keen interest in astronomy, had sailed to Mauritius to observe the transit of Venus.

During dinner in the Castle one night, Lord Crawford pointed to a star, observing that one day it may run into the earth. “ If it does ”, Sir Hercules Langrishe replied, “ I hope we will be on the starboard tack ”. World War I broke out inconsiderately during Cowes Week in 1914; both Squadron yachts and yachtsmen were to play their part in that conflict.

After the war, the ladies arrived. They had been entertained before in the “Deer Park”, as the lawn was named in their honour, but it was not until the Squadron secured the ballroom below Castle Rock (now the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club) from Rosa Lewis of Cavendish Hotel fame, that they had a roof of their own. The Six Metres became popular after the First War, encouraged by the British American Cup.

The popularity of the smaller racing boat owes much to two members, Sir Ralph Gore and Sir Kenneth Preston. However, the focus was still on the big class and the public flocked to Cowes to see the J’s – Britannia, Shamrock V and later Endeavour I, thunder past the Green. Tom Sopwith, with the first of his Endeavours, came as near as the Squadron has ever done so far in winning back the “Auld Mug” as the America’s Cup is affectionately known.

Sir Philip Hunloke was the first President of the newly formed Ocean Racing Club and, with Sir Ralph Gore, encouraged the Fastnet Race, first won by Jolie Brise in 1925. The Second World War saw the RYS Castle as part of HMS Vectis and head-quarters of ‘J’ Force. After the War, at the suggestion of Peter Scott, King George VI presented the Britannia Cup, one of the most celebrated races of Cowes Week.

1948-Present Day

The decade following the end of the War was called the “age of austerity and reverse sheer”. Neither were good looking. However, Bluebottle, the Dragon owned by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, gave small boat racing a kick start. Speed was becoming acceptable too, and Peter du Cane with Vospers was a pioneer. Tommy Sopwith won the first off-shore power boat race to Torquay in 1961.

The moving spirit behind this and the Boat Show was Max Aitken. In 1957, Hugh Goodson, who helped to found the Sail Training Association, headed the 1958 Squadron challenge for the America’s Cup. Captain Henry Denham and Lord Camrose explored the Mediterranean and the former wrote his remarkable guides. In 1966/67 Sir Francis Chichester sailed on his own round the world, which led to the Chichester Trophy, presented by The Duke of Westminster, and the Whitbread Round the World Race. Sir Owen Aisher produced Yeoman after Yeoman and Ted Heath won the Sydney – Hobart with Morning Cloud in 1969. The Admiral’s Cup enlivened racing at Cowes.

The first Chairman of the Cowes Combined Clubs in 1964 was Lord Runciman. Cowes was changing. Two Commodores, Sir John Nicholson and John Roome, consolidated the Squadron’s position and Sir Maurice Laing gave Cowes the chance, through a Trust, to take over the marina.

The Castle itself was fitted for ladies in the 1960s. The brass hot water cans disappeared in favour of the bedroom basin and the radiator made its appearance. The Pavilion, designed by Sir Thomas Croft, was opened in 2000. This elegant creation provides on shore facilities for yachtsmen and their families while allowing the Castle to retain its ‘Country house’ ambiance.

The Pavilion also enabled the Squadron to cross burgees with the New York Yacht Club in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Schooner America’s famous victory of 1851. The latest alteration is the RYS Jubilee Haven which, together with the Cowes Harbour Commission pontoon off the Parade, does much to enliven the scene on the water for the visitor to Cowes.

Royal Yacht Squadron

The Castle, Cowes, Isle of Wight, P031 7QT

Tel: +44 (0) 1983 292 191

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The White Ensign: A brief history of the iconic Royal Navy flag

The Royal Navy is one of the oldest and most established navies in the world.

It is united by 475 years of history, a motto that states: "If you wish for peace, prepare for war," and its flag – the White Ensign – which is flown on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments around the world. 

It might just be a simple piece of cloth, but a flag can be a powerful symbol that conveys nationhood and belonging.

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Flags embody the values of an organisation. They are enshrined with meaning and inspire strong emotions from those who see them. 

Each flag has its own unique history. 

Graham Bartram, the UK's Chief Vexillologist at the Flag Institute since the 1990s, is a flag expert who advises the UK Government on correct protocols. About the importance of flags, Mr Bartram said: 

"[Flags are] probably one of the most powerful symbols in the world. That is why we should treat them with respect." 

During his long career, Mr Bartram has worked with the United Nations, the British Government, the Palace and the Ministry of Defence. 

If standing in Parliament Square, one can see three flags that the vexillologist created, if you look in three different directions – the flag of the Supreme Court, the flag of St Margaret's (the church next to Westminster Abbey) and the flag of the House of Commons. 

Mr Graham, speaking about why he personally decided to dedicate his career to the study of flags, said: "You can have millions of copies of that piece of fabric with the same design but somehow, they are so much more than that.

"The flag reflects people's identities. 

"It is both a piece of fabric and everything encompassed in that piece of fabric, it is the history, it is the geography and all the people involved in what made that flag what it is." 

What are the origins of the White Ensign?

The origins of the answer go back to Tudor times. The Tudor flags were striped with an English flag in the corner because England was still separate from Scotland at that point.

After the two countries united in 1707, what might be recognised as a White Ensign was developed, in other words, a white flag with a red cross over it with a Union Flag in the corner.

At the time, the Union Flag did not have red diagonals because Ireland had not joined the Kingdom of Great Britain at that point.

According to Mr Bartram: "Originally, the Royal Navy didn't just use the White Ensign.

"It used the White Ensign, the Red Ensign and the Blue Ensign because the Navy was divided into three different squadrons. And the squadrons each had their own Admiral, Vice Admiral and Rear Admiral.

"And the interesting thing is the white wasn't the most senior one... the most senior ensign was the red one."

The year 1864 was a monumental year for the Royal Navy because it was decided then to drop the squadron system and just use one flag for the entire Royal Navy.

The decision was made that the White Ensign would represent the Royal Navy from then on.  

Why was white chosen instead of blue or red?

Mr Bartram said the Royal Navy may not have had much power in the decision-making process at the time.

He said: "I'm not sure if they chose or whether it was imposed upon them by the powers that be."

The Red Ensign was assigned to the Merchant Navy. Merchants had already been using red flags even before the squadron system was abolished.

Arguably, the merchant fleet was more important at the time, as Mr Bartram explains: "That was where our wealth was coming from... we literally used to own virtually the entire world shipping fleet."

All the goods that were coming from the newly created British Empire were travelling on the Merchant Navy ships.

"The merchant side was considered very important so they got the red. The Navy got the white and the Government got the blue."

This categorisation has survived until this day.

Government vessels fly Blue Ensigns on the back. Royal Navy vessels will almost always sport white unless they are doing trials or are not in commission. While everyone else has Red Ensigns.

Are there exceptions?

As with every rule, there are, of course, exceptions. Naval clubs can apply for special permission to use a particular ensign.

For example, the Royal Yacht Squadron has special permission to fly the White Ensign, perhaps due to the fact that they are one of the oldest and most established British yacht clubs with former ties to the Duke of Edinburgh.

Ships must also fly a White Ensign when the Queen is on board.

HMS Warrior, a 40-gun steam-powered armoured frigate launched in 1860, flies a Red Ensign. As Britain's first iron-hulled armoured battleship, she serves as a Naval Museum in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

Although HMS Warrior is technically a Royal Navy vessel, she flies the Red Ensign because, in her heyday when she was the pride of Queen Victoria's fleet, she was part of the red squadron. Historically, she wore a Red Ensign and that is the way it remains until this day.

Why this particular design?  

The White Ensign consists of a red St George's cross on a white background with a Union Flag in the upper left canton.

As explained by Mr Bartram: "This goes back to the Tudor flags, where they had basically stripey flags. And then they put an English flag in the top corner."

There is a practical reason why the English Flag was put in the corner.

"If you think about when a flag is flying the bit of a flag, you can nearly always see, no matter what the wind is like, the bit in the top corner.

"Because it's held up, because that's where the flagpole is, and that's where the ropes are, it's held in location."

Even if there is no wind and the flag is drooping, the top corner will always be the most visible.

"Whereas the bits at the bottom and nearest the fly, which is a bit further from the flagpole, they all tend to get bunched up and, you know, disappear behind each other.

"So that's why the top left corner is considered the most senior point on a flag. And that's why you always put your most important element there.

"In Britain's case, we put a Union Flag. The Americans put what they call the union, which is the stars, the blue field of the 50 stars, because that's what represents the country, 50 stars for 50 states."

The last time the American flag changed was in 1960. After Alaska and Hawaii became states in 1959, new stars were added to the flag.

The last time there was a major change to the flag in Britain was in 1801 when Ireland joined the Union. Red diagonals were added to the Union Flag to represent Ireland. The White Ensign was updated accordingly.

What is the difference between an ensign and a flag?

An ensign is a type of flag.

Chief Vexillologist Mr Bartram said: "Ensign in modern terms usually refers to the flag that's on the back of a ship. Because that's normally where you'd fly the ensign of a modern ship.

"Some modern warships fly them from the main mast. But the traditional ships fly ensign from the master at the back."

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Conditions Governing the Issue of Yacht Permits to Members of Entitled Yacht Clubs in the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands

By Section 4 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, it is an offence to hoist on board any ship or boat belonging to any British subject certain colours, flags and pendants without a Permit from Her Majesty the Queen or from the Secretary of State for Defence. The maximum penalty is one thousand pounds for each offence. Among the prohibited flags are the Union Flag, the White Ensign, the Blue Ensign (plain or defaced) and the Red Ensign with any defacement. The prohibition applies to any ship or boat belonging to any British Subject wherever it may be, and so extends not only to tidal waters but equally to rivers, lakes and inland watersgenerally. Yachts may not wear the special Ensigns prohibited above except:

• Under a Warrant issued to the yacht owner by the Secretary of State for Defence prior to April 1st 1985 and in accordance with the conditions stated hereon, or
• Under a Permit issued to a yacht owner by a Yacht Club from 1st April 1985 onwards and in accordance with the conditions set out below.

Conditions.

• Permit: The Yacht must be issued with a Permit by a Yacht Club pursuant to the granting of a Warrant to that Club by the Secretary of State for Defence.
• Registration and Measurement. a) Registration. The Yacht must be a ship registered under either: (i) Part I of the Register of British Ships or (ii) Part III of the Register of British Ships (Small Ships Register) b) Measurement. The Yacht must measure not less than: (i) 2 tons gross if registered under a(i) above (ii) 7 metres in length overall if registered under a(ii) above
• Membership of Designated Yacht Club. The Owner or Owners of the Yacht must have current membership of one of the Yacht Clubs in the United Kingdom or Channel Islands to which a Warrant has been issued and which is designated in the Navy List.
• Nationality. The Owner or Owners must be British Citizens.
• Use of Yacht. a) The Special Ensign may only be worn on a Yacht used exclusively for private and personal purposes of the Yachtsman to whom the the Permit is issued. b) The Yacht must not be used for any professional, business or commercial purpose. A Yacht whose name incorporates a name, product or trademark used for business or commercial purposes is not eligible for a permit. c) A Yacht which is never used for cruising, eg a Houseboat, is ineligible for a permit.
• Limited Companies. A Yacht which is the property of a Limited Company may be eligible for a permit provided the provisions of Condition 5 are complied with, and the user is a British Subject and a Member of a designated Yacht Club.
• Presence of Permit Holder. Except under the provisions of Condition 6, a Permit does not confer any authority while the Yacht is being sailed by anyone other than the Owner in person, thus a Special Ensign may not be worn unless the Owner or user (see condition 6) of the Yacht is on board, or in effective control of her when she is in Harbour or at anchor near the shore, and the Clubs Burgee, is flown at the main masthead, or other suitable position. The Permit must always be carried on board when a Special Ensign is worn.
• Separate Authorisation from Each Club. If the Owner or user belongs to more than one designated club, he must have on board the Permit authorising the particular Ensign, which is being worn. Note - A member of a privileged club who shares a Yacht with joint owners ineligible of belonging to that club because of restricted membership qualifications may exceptionally apply for a permit. All applications under this exception must be supported by written confirmation that the other owners are ineligible for membership of the Yacht Club concerned. A permit issued in these circumstances is valid only when the joint owner in whose name the Permit is issued is on board or in effective control of the Yacht when at anchor or in harbour near the shore.
• Charter or Loan of Yacht for which the Permit is Issued. It is expressly forbidden for the person borrowing or chartering the aforesaid Yacht to wear the privilege Ensign for which a Permit has been previously issued by the owner's club.
• Return of Permit. When a Yacht is sold, there is a change of ownership, or the owner ceases to be a member of the Club, the Permit must at once be surrendered to the Secretary of the Club who shall forthwith cancel it.
• Alterations to Permits. No alterations are to be made to Permits. If the name of the Yacht is changed, or alterations are made which affect the Register, the Permit is to be withdrawn by the Secretary of the Club. A new Permit may be issued provided the provisions of these conditions are otherwise satisfied.
• Permits Lost or Stolen. In the event of a Permit being lost or stolen, the member must forward to the Secretary of the Club a report on the circumstances of the loss and the steps taken to recover it. The Secretary of the Club may, at his discretion, issue a fresh permit.
• Tenders. The special Ensign may be worn by any boat which belongs to the Yacht and which can be conveniently hoisted on board.
• Foreign Cruises. When cruising in Foreign waters a Yacht for which a permit to wear a Special Ensign has been issued should take care to avoid any action which might result in complications with a Foreign Power.
• A Permit for a Yacht to wear a Special Ensign becomes invalid if the provisions of the above Conditions are not met.
• Etiquette. Permit holders should comply with the custom, when in harbour, of hoisting the Ensign at 0800 (15 February to 31 October) otherwise at 0900 and lowering the Ensign at local Sunset (or 2100 local time if earlier).

David Prothero , 11 January 2006

Originally it was, as far as I have been able to establish, the choice of the club. In 1927 it was decided that since a plain Blue Ensign was the ensign of the Royal Naval Reserve, no more would be authorised for yacht clubs. In fact three more were authorised, but only for Service clubs; Royal Naval Sailing Association in 1936, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve YC in 1958 and Royal Marines Sailing Club in 1965. There is an unwritten pecking-order based, it would seem, on heraldic principles, that a yacht club with a plain Blue Ensign ranks above a club with a defaced Blue Ensign, which in turn ranks above a club with a defaced Red Ensign; but this was not the view of the Admiralty. When the Royal Dee YC had its warrant withdrawn in 1928 because it had too few yachts, it offered to change from a defaced Blue to a defaced Red Ensign if this would enable it to retain a special ensign. The Admiralty replied that, "the standard required before a yacht club can be authorised to fly a special ensign is the same whether the ensign be the Blue Ensign, the defaced Blue Ensign, or the defaced Red Ensign." David Prothero , 16 November 2002

On the website of a yacht club (I forgot which) I read that the ensign was undefaced if the club was already "Royal". Bryan-Kinns Merrick , 15 November 2002

Yacht clubs do not have royal charters. It is simply a title which they are permitted to use, as a prefix to the name of the club. In the latter part of the 19th century some clubs that wanted a special ensign, would apply to the Home Office for the title 'royal', in the belief that possessing the title would improve their chances of being granted an ensign. It actually worked the other way round. Any requests for the 'royal' title received by the Home Office were passed to the Admiralty with the question, "Does this club have a special ensign, and if not, would one be granted if it applied?" If the Admiralty replied, "No", and "Would not", the club's request was almost certain to be refused. David Prothero ,  16 November 2002  

image located by Jose C Alegria

The origins of the wearing of the White Ensign by the Royal Yacht Squadron

Published by icc on may 3, 2023 may 3, 2023.

Extracted from ’Memorials of the Royal Yacht Squadron’ by Montague Guest (Librarian of the RYS) and William B Boulton, printed in London in 1902.

In 1859 was agitated the famous grievance of the supposed privileged possessed by the [Royal Yacht] Squadron of flying the White Ensign. A debate in Parliament and the publication of a Blue Book were necessary to compose the agitation of the group of the aggrieved ones in this matter. It was really, in essence, a very simple one, which had been somewhat complicated by the blundering of a clerk at the Admiralty, and the privilege as a fact was no privilege at all. As some misconception of the matter still exists, it may perhaps be well but it’s history should here be plainly stated.

….the vessels of the Squadron were by successive concessions of foreign governments granted privileges of exemption from port dues in foreign harbours, which placed them as pleasure vessels in a class apart from merchant vessels. [Briefly, this was because Squadron yachts, many of them armed and often with royalty or the ‘great and good’ on board, frequently visited foreign ports together with the British fleet. It was for this reason also that King William IV decreed in 1833 that the ‘Club’ should be called the ‘Squadron’.] These privileges in fact set them on the same footing as the King’s ships and it was felt by the Admiralty that a distinguishing ensign for these vessels was necessary for the convenience of the officials of the foreign Governments whose harbours they visited. There were only three ensigns available for the purpose – the Red, the White, and Blue. Of these the Red was already allocated to merchantmen, the White was worn then, as now, by the King’s ships, and the Blue by another class of vessel under the Admiralty – transports and the like. The privileges granted by foreign Governments to yachts being exactly those enjoyed by the King’s ships, it no doubt occurred to the Admiralty that the same ensign would be most suitable as a distinguishing flag for the pleasure vessels. In any case, as we have seen, permission to wear the White or St George’s Ensign was given to the Squadron by a warrant of the Admiralty in the year 1829.

It is important to note that the wearing of the ensign was not confined to the yachts of the Squadron but was permitted by those of any other recognised yacht clubs who chose to apply for it. Most of the clubs existing at the time availed themselves of the permission – the Royal Thames, the Royal Eastern, and the Royal Western Yacht Clubs, among others. Shortly after 1829 the Irish members of the Royal Western Yacht Club seceded and formed a club of their own entitled the Royal Western of Ireland Yacht Club. This club was granted the use of the White Ensign in 1832 in circumstances which show how little the flag was valued at the time, and that its use was not regarded in any way as a privilege. Mr O’Connell, the original Commodore of that club, addressed a letter to the Admiralty dated the 30th January, 1832 which contain the following passage:- “A White Ensign has been granted to the Royal Yacht Club, a Red Ensign to the Royal Cork, a Blue Ensign to the Royal Northern, and as the only unoccupied national flag, we have assumed the Green Ensign.”

To this the Secretary of the Admiralty replied:- “I am commanded by my Lords Commissioners to acquaint you that you may have as a flag for this club either a Red, White or Blue Ensign with such device thereon as you may point out, but their lordships cannot sanction the introduction of a new colour to be worn by British ships.”

The Irish club then chose the White Ensign, not considering it as any privilege, as is evident from Mr. O’Connell’s letter, but rather the reverse, and they added a crown, and a very small wreath of pale shamrock leaves as a distinguishing mark. So, the matter rested for ten years.

Meanwhile as the number of yacht clubs and of private vessels increased there were constant complaints reaching the Admiralty through the Foreign Office of irregularities committed in foreign ports by owners of pleasure vessels flying the White Ensign. There were charges of smuggling, of evasions of quarantine regulations, of landing and embarking passengers, and of a general abuse of the privileges which the flag conferred in foreign ports – privileges which had been granted to yachtsman entirely by the efforts of the Royal Yacht Squadron in the early days. There was a continual correspondence between the Admiralty and the secretary of the Squadron on the subject during those ten years which is preserved at the Castle [clubhouse of the RYS in Cowes on the Isle of Wight], and goes to show that a great part of that gentleman’s time was spent explaining that such and such a vessel which had committed such and such an outrage at Lisbon or Marseilles or Naples had no connection with the club. These irregularities had the natural result of bringing odium upon other yachtsmen flying the same ensign and who were innocent of any abuse of its privilege, and the nuisance at last became so injurious to the reputation of the Squadron that a meeting of the club in 1842 passed the following resolution:- “The meeting requested the Earl of Yarborough to solicit the Admiralty to alter the present colours of the Royal Yacht Squadron, or permission to wear the Blue Ensign, etc, in addition, in consequence of so many yacht clubs and private yachts wearing colours similar to those at present worn by the Royal Yacht Squadron.”

There followed a correspondence between Lord Yarborough and the Admiralty in which the former made complete of, “the many irregularities committed by persons falsely representing themselves as members and bringing undeserved disgrace on the Royal Yacht Squadron.” The result of the correspondence appears in a letter from Mr. Sidney Herbert to the Secretary of the Squadron dated from the Admiralty on July 22nd, 1842. The Admiralty refused permission to the Squadron to change their flag and decided to confine the use of the White Ensign to its members. “ I am commanded by my Lords,”  wrote Mr. Herbert,  “to inform you that they have consented to much of the above request as relates to the privilege of wearing the White Ensign being confined to the Royal Yacht Squadron, and that they have taken measures that the other yacht clubs may wear such other ensigns only as shall be easily distinguished from that of the Royal Yacht Squadron.” In pursuance of this decision all clubs were notified that the permission to fly the White Ensign was henceforward confined to the members of the Squadron and the matter again appear to be settled. 

In notifying these clubs, however, the clerk at the Admiralty being unaware of the secession of the Royal Western of Ireland Yacht Club from that of England, addressed his letter to the English club only, and in the absence of any instructions to the contrary, the Irish club continued to fly the White Ensign. Matters rested there until a further correspondence between the Admiralty and yacht clubs arose in 1858. Some years previously the Admiralty had issued particular warrants to the owners of particular vessels in addition to the general warrant issued to the clubs as corporate bodies. In that year the Royal Western of Ireland Yacht Club applied for particular warrants for its members, but was a first refused on the ground, ”that it was defying the Admiralty by flying the ensign, and that the accidental omission of a letter in1842 was not considered to confer a claim to exemption from the general rule then established, viz. the restriction of the privilege of wearing the White Ensign to the Royal Yacht Squadron.” On renewed application, however, the Admiralty weakly gave way and issued particular warrants to members of the Royal Western of Ireland Yacht Club. This was immediately seized upon by another Irish club, the Royal St George’s, as a grievance. Its Commodore, the Marquess of Conyngham, wrote to the Admiralty to the effect that his club,  “felt aggrieved that a club in no way better conducted – the Royal Western of Ireland Yacht Club – should be permitted to carry the White Ensign, as it appears that this privilege is no longer confined to the Royal Yacht Squadron,” and requested permission for the club to again fly the flag. The matter was at length set at rest by the Admiralty in a letter to Lord Wilton as Commodore of the RYS.

Admiralty 25th June 1858 “My Lord, – I am commanded by my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to acquaint your lordship that my Lords, having received some recent application from yacht clubs for permission to wear the White Ensign of Her Majesty’s fleet, have considered that they may have to choose between the alternative of reverting to the principal established in the year 1842 whereby the privilege was restricted to the Royal Yacht Squadron, or to extend still further the concession which was made in this respect to the Royal Western Yacht Club of Ireland in the year 1853, and that they have decided on the former alternative. They have accordingly cancelled the warrants authorising the vessels of the Royal Western Yacht Club of Ireland to wear the White Ensign, and this privilege for the future is to be enjoyed by the Royal Yacht Squadron only.  I am, my Lord, your most obedient servant H Corry”

Such is the history of the White Ensign in relation to pleasure vessels. The matter was twice before Parliament, once in 1858 when an Irish member found a grievance in the decision of the Admiralty, and in later times in 1883, when Lord (then Mr.) Brassey, replying to Mr. Labouchere for Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman, cited the minute of 1842, and declared that, “as the matter was historical, he was not authorised to make any changes.” Whatever privilege is attached to the wearing of the flag was never sought by the Squadron, and it was not valued by other clubs until the irregularities of many private owners resulted in its use being confined to the old club which had first flown the flag. As a writer of 1858 pointed out, its wearing by the vessels of the Squadron alone eventually gave it a distinction among yacht ensigns, and there would probably have been the same struggle for its possession had the Squadron flown an ensign of purple or pink.

(Transcribed from the original text by John Clementson, May 2019)

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The Law and Etiquette of the Blue Ensign

The Royal Mersey Yacht Club’s own Blue Ensign. Who may and when, where, and how to fly it?

Andrew Whittingham-Jones.

August 2019

A short guide to the Law (what must be done) and Etiquette (maritime traditions and expectations of behaviour between seafarers) about the flying flags on board yachts. There a several, substantial, books in print. What I write here is only intended to be an outline, or introductory guide to this topic.

Perhaps it ought not be a surprise in an activity as old, and ingrained in our Island history, as going to sea, that the etiquette part is a lot longer, and much more complicated, than the legal part. That is why I am going to start with the law. It’s; for once in our lives, clear and short.

Before even the legal part it will help you if I clarify a few points of basic terminology. Yes, I know what you are thinking, even retired lawyers can’t pass an opportunity for a couple of definitions. Bear with me, I promise that it will help.

Let’s talk now about flags, and the all-important difference between a land flag and a marine ensign, or “colours”. The Union Jack, Welsh Dragon, the Crosses of Saints George, Andrew, Patrick and the EU flag are all, primarily, land flags and must never by flown at sea by educated yachtsmen like members of Royal Mersey. They are confusing too. The cross of Saint Andrew corresponds to International Code flag M  (my vessel is stopped and making no way through the water)  and Saint Patrick to Code Flag V  (I require assistance)  and Saint George  (flown only by an admiral— don’t argue)  I have seen all of them hanging over the sterns of yachts, even British ones in foreign waters. Makes you shudder. Most countries have no such thing as a maritime ensign, and just fly their national flag.

The Union Jack, or Union Flag if you prefer (both terms are correct), is the property of the Royal Navy who fly it on a jackstaff at the bow, hence Union Jack. Non-military ships are allowed to fly a union flag with a white border, which is called a Pilot Jack, or Civil Jack or Merchant Jack, on a jackstaff at the bow. This used to mean that she required a pilot, but this has fallen into disuse.

The main source of law is the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (the Act) which is written in the clearest terms:

“Section 2. The flag which every British ship is entitled to fly is the red ensign (without any defacement or modification) and, subject …………….as below, no other colours.”

The “ subject …………….as below”  which concerns us, is: –

“any colours allowed to be worn in pursuance of a warrant from Her Majesty or from the Secretary of State” ;

A ”British Ship”, for our purposes, means any craft owned by a British Subject. The Act also lays down that a British Ship must show her colours in only two circumstances; when required to do so by one of HM Ships and when entering and leaving a foreign port.

Britain, and a few former colonies, are unique in having special maritime ensigns, the white, blue and red. Sometimes plain or, like ours, with a motif in the fly. The white is for HM Ships, a Naval Officer (or RNVR) on his own yacht and members of The Royal Yacht Squadron, the blue for a privileged few, and the red for everyone else.

Royal Mersey was, as number 26 of our Laws states, and it’s written each year in our yearbook, granted permission by warrant from the Secretary of State on September 24 th 1844 for its own unique Club Flag

  “the Blue Ensign of Her Majesty’s Fleet, with a crown over the “Liver” in the fly of the Ensign….and the Burgee shall be blue, with the crown over the Liver”

However, just by being a member of RMYC does not give you the right to fly our ensign. You need to apply to our Hon Sec for a Permit for your yacht, and to qualify for that your yacht needs to be owned by you, not a limited company, not used for trade and must be registered under either Parts I or III, of the Register of British Ships (Small Ships Register). To register under Part I, the yacht must over two tons gross or, under Part III, over 7 meters overall length. In other words, only reasonably substantial vessels can fly our Blue.

So, there you have it, the law. Simple isn’t it? I told you it would be.

Now here we go with the etiquette, and this is where things get a lot more complicated. First of all, the law only refers to ensigns on ships or vessels, but we all know that our blue ensign is flown on the mast on the lawn in front of the clubhouse. This is the first of the traditions, that shore establishments of a club holding a Royal Warrant can fly the blue there, or premises occupied by a flag officer of the Club. 

On a yacht, her ensign, whatever its colour, should be flown in the most senior position, usually on the ensign staff on her stern, though ketches often fly them from the mizzen masthead and gaff rigged yachts from the gaff peak. The point is that the ensign must be plainly in view to establish the vessel’s nationality. A blue ensign is flown together with the corresponding burgee. That is why our Warrant describes the burgee. It is usual to hoist the burgee then the ensign, and lower in the reverse order. Some yacht clubs with blue ensigns, and the One with a white one, require their members to fly the burgee from the masthead, but because mastheads have become very crowded spaces with lights, wind instruments and multiple radio antenna, it is usual to see the club burgee flown from the next most important place on a yacht, the starboard spreader. The blue ensign may only be flown when the holder of the Permit is on board, or ashore nearby.

F lying the burgee, incidentally a burgee is always triangular excepting only a Commodore’s broad swallow-tailed pennant, from the starboard spreader is a cause of flag etiquette complications because the starboard spreader is the place for signal flags, such as the Q flag (yellow rectangle) on entry to a foreign port, and the courtesy flag of a foreign state. The problem is that it is discourteous to fly anything superior to either a courtesy flag or your own burgee! Perhaps the solution is, when entering foreign waters, to fly a red ensign. That will also avoid the confusion caused to foreigners by the blue ensign, which has caused awestruck enquiries as to whether we had sailed all the way from New Zealand!

The size and condition of flags is important. I used to think that my faded ensign was a source of pride showing that I had left a long wake. Not so. All ensigns and courtesy flags of foreign countries ought to be clean, bright and free from frayed ends. Foreign nationals can be touchy on this subject.

What is the right size? I suppose the main rule is “if it looks right, it is right”, but never so big that it trails in the water.

The practice of the Royal Navy, which is universally followed by yachtsmen, is to hoist their Colours- Union Jack at the bow and then the White ensign at the stern- daily at 0800 with a ceremony, usually involving the ship’s bugler, referred to as Morning Colours. They then haul them down, in the reverse order, in a ceremony called Evening Colours, more bugles, at sunset or 2100.

I have only once “dipped”, that is temporally lowered, my ensign to one of HM Ships (HMS Tyne) at sea, and was thrilled to see a rating standing at her ensign staff, with the flag halliard in one hand and a cigarette in the other, as she sailed past with her white ensign lowered in answer; and never a word spoken.

Every racing man knows the difference between a rectangular racing flag at the masthead and a burgee, and that ensigns and burgees are always struck at the five-minute gun, just to show that she is racing and might be given the courtesy of a little indulgence by non-racing ”stand on” vessels.

In the last word of this piece the verbal pedant just below the skin of every lawyer knows that I will “fly” my ensign, but my yacht will “wear” it.

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• Crossword Tips

Clue: City S of Moscow

Referring crossword puzzle answers, likely related crossword puzzle clues.

• Russian city
• Pitcher Hershiser
• City on the Oka
• Sportscaster Hershiser
• Hurler Hershiser
• City south of Moscow
• Turgenev's birthplace
• Baseball's Hershiser
• Soviet city

Recent usage in crossword puzzles:

• New York Times - Sept. 26, 1993
• New York Times - May 20, 1985