Ensign Etiquette

oldgit said:
"I dont fully understand the flag thing. what is it for? I think there is a red ensign on our motorboat but what does it mean? I've never really understood the 'you must fly this and not that' with these flags. Can anyone put me in the right dirction of reading or explain why"

Basically an appreciation (from even us unworthy Republicans :)) that in times gone past many civilians in the merchant marine gave their all under the Red Ensign and that is why I fly one of them on my boat.
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Ahhh i see - so its a historical thing opposed to any level of skill/registration - that helps a lot.

Ive been a bit unsure about displaying any marking incase people thought we were more capable than we actually are.... (if that makes sense)
 
symondo said:
wow - Thanks! I'll save that to read over a few more times, quite a lot on a subject i didnt really put much thought to.

wonder how this would work in an independant scotland..
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It would depend if Scotland decided to have an independent registry as the ensign is primarily determined by the nationality of the register. Most of the variations on the Red Ensign such as Channel Islands, IOM and a whole range of ex colonies and dependencies are all members of the Red Flag group and although they have their own registries they are based on the UK model.

Scotland could follow that model or establish its own registry. However they have little incentive to do that as they don't have a large shipping industry, although the nationalists might see it as symbolic to do so. In the meantime there is no reason why you cannot fly a Saltair in home waters.
 
I can't speak for the Coast, but on the Upper Thames, there are a fair few Blue ensigns, mainly defaced of course.

Ensign etiquette however is the same in either case, a Blue one does not give you anything extra.

Beware however, of the hoots of derision you may get if your boat handling isn't up to scratch! The Defaced Blue is generally seen as a bit of a power trip/ ego massager, and will seriously backfire if you don't perform as expected :p

Mine is Red, as it goes with the boat colour scheme....
 
oldgit said:
"I dont fully understand the flag thing. what is it for? I think there is a red ensign on our motorboat but what does it mean? I've never really understood the 'you must fly this and not that' with these flags. Can anyone put me in the right dirction of reading or explain why"

Basically an appreciation (from even us unworthy Republicans :)) that in times gone past many civilians in the merchant marine gave their all under the Red Ensign and that is why I fly one of them on my boat.
Click to expand...
+1 for the Red Ensign sentiment for our Merchant fleets and those serving them in times of difficulty, and as did quite a few people I served alongside in the RN, and many many before them. I will continue to fly the un-defaced blue, and with immense pride at both those who sacrificed all and my own time 'On the wall".
 
My wife and I both drive 4x4's and we take it in turn to do the school run, to be honest we live so close we could walk it but we can't be arsed. It's great if it rains as we stay dry and if it's sunny we stay cool with the air con etc, lots of the school run drivers where we live are women in Lycra ready for the morning trip to the gym. We were about to order a Range Rover in White but having read your post we are going to honour you by changing it to a navy blue one,
see ya
 
paul salliss said:
My wife and I both drive 4x4's and we take it in turn to do the school run, to be honest we live so close we could walk it but we can't be arsed. It's great if it rains as we stay dry and if it's sunny we stay cool with the air con etc, lots of the school run drivers where we live are women in Lycra ready for the morning trip to the gym. We were about to order a Range Rover in White but having read your post we are going to honour you by changing it to a navy blue one,
see ya
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That's OK, you don't count, as you don't reside in either Knightsbridge or Chelsea;)
 
paul salliss said:
My wife and I both drive 4x4's and we take it in turn to do the school run, to be honest we live so close we could walk it but we can't be arsed. It's great if it rains as we stay dry and if it's sunny we stay cool with the air con etc, lots of the school run drivers where we live are women in Lycra ready for the morning trip to the gym. We were about to order a Range Rover in White but having read your post we are going to honour you by changing it to a navy blue one,
see ya
Click to expand...

Undoubtedly the Range Rover is the one to go for,at the very least it announces, "I do not care if my grandchildren drown" due to my buying this undynamic brick and contributing to GW, but at least it has class .
Unlike all the other vile hidous offerings from manufacturers such as Audi and BMW ,which announce "Not only do I have not enough money to buy a proper Chelsea Tractor" but have no taste at all. :):):)
 
oldgit said:
Undoubtedly the Range Rover is the one to go for,at the very least it announces, "I do not care if my grandchildren drown" due to my buying this undynamic brick and contributing to GW, but at least it has class .
Unlike all the other vile hidous offerings from manufacturers such as Audi and BMW ,which announce "Not only do I have not enough money to buy a proper Chelsea Tractor" but have no taste at all. :):):)
Click to expand...

Fred, I wish you'd stop being so coy, don't be shy, say what you mean.:D:D:D
 
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