Female Yacht Owners

ylop

Well-known member
Joined
10 Oct 2016
Messages
1,724
Visit site
My Blue Ensign warrant requires the yacht to be owned and registered to a UK citizen with the qualifying conditions - that ruled out my wife so as far as the SSR is concerned I am sole owner.
Wow you need to be rather enthusiastic about showing your allegiance with a blue duster to see the rules that way round and exclude your wife from ownership rather than include her and fly a red one!
 

Mudisox

Well-known member
Joined
4 Jan 2004
Messages
1,737
Location
Dartmouth
Visit site
At youth dinghy events you see loads of young girls competing. Probably 50%. I've wondered why that cohort of male and female don't seem to move into cruising, with fewer females doing so. I sailed with a friend in the early 80s who got a large redundancy payment and she blew it on a 34 footer. That was not usual for the times.
That's because the RYA youth events are geared towards racing and progression towards team GBR, for medals.
Cruising is a different thought process, and not pushed, so when they "fail" to reach dizzy heights they go elsewhere.
 

Serin

Well-known member
Joined
18 May 2015
Messages
1,153
Visit site
My Blue Ensign warrant requires the yacht to be owned and registered to a UK citizen with the qualifying conditions - that ruled out my wife so as far as the SSR is concerned I am sole owner.

My late husband also held a warrant (naval yacht club) and was quite attached to his blue ensign. As joint owners, we simply had "his 'n hers" ensigns, his blue, mine red, worn as appropriate. For the last seven years it's just the red (not that I often use the ensign in home waters) but his blue is still on board. She was/is a fully registered British ship. No problem. But, of course, we were/are both British citizens.
 

ylop

Well-known member
Joined
10 Oct 2016
Messages
1,724
Visit site
Why is that a problem for you?
To me, a blue ensign is a glorified burgee, a way of showing your special status as a member of "the club". If that club would not permit my spouse to also be part of the that club (or would let them join but not grant the same permission to fly my special flag) I'm not sure I'd particularly want to be part of the club. However, assuming that I was, perhaps because it was convenient, I would have three choices:
- exclude my spouse from owning the boat so that I could fly my special flag and everyone know I am a member of the special club
- ignore the rules and fly the special flag regardless of the rules but treat my spouse as my equal; knowing that nobody really gives a toss about the special rules except the people in the special club, perhaps breaking the rule might even give me the satisfaction of sticking two fingers up to them without having to deal with the controversy of pointing out the stupidity of the rules
- treat my spouse as my equal and fly the ordinary ensign, should any club mafia challenge me for not waving the correct flag, I could enjoy correcting them on the law / etiquette as well as pointing out the stupidity of the rules they are manifest in promoting.

There's essentially two relationships involved here. One with the party you've chosen to spend your life with and one with a bunch of crusty old people in blazers. If its not clear which should be the priority I'm not sure why you are married.
 

dgadee

Well-known member
Joined
13 Oct 2010
Messages
3,673
Visit site
I was reading the first few pages of Jane Austen's Persuasion the other day - Sir Walter Elliot and his entry in the Baronetage - and thinking it's just like those ensigns. "Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot's character".
 

Serin

Well-known member
Joined
18 May 2015
Messages
1,153
Visit site
Sometimes I am tempted to explain, for the benefit of people who express the kind of cobblers in the above two posts (Vanity? Crusty old people in blazers?) the history, reasons and reality behind these ensign issues. But I'm afraid facts do tend to reinforce, rather than dispel, prejudice. And I do have better things to do. However, I will say this - think red ensign wearers who claim to be proud to wear the flag of the merchant convoys of WW2 (usually when berating blue ensigns) There's a clue there.
 

dgadee

Well-known member
Joined
13 Oct 2010
Messages
3,673
Visit site
Sometimes I am tempted to explain, for the benefit of people who express the kind of cobblers in the above two posts (Vanity? Crusty old people in blazers?) the history, reasons and reality behind these ensign issues. But I'm afraid facts do tend to reinforce, rather than dispel, prejudice. And I do have better things to do. However, I will say this - think red ensign wearers who claim to be proud to wear the flag of the merchant convoys of WW2 (usually when berating blue ensigns) There's a clue there.

Can't really parse that. However, I should point out that my wife likes to fly the Scots Ensign at the back of our Med based boat. She's probably even more keen today after yesterday's SC ruling.

ps: she's not on the Part 1 docs - wasn't around when I bought. To get the thread back onto track.
 
Last edited:

ylop

Well-known member
Joined
10 Oct 2016
Messages
1,724
Visit site
Sometimes I am tempted to explain, for the benefit of people who express the kind of cobblers in the above two posts (Vanity? Crusty old people in blazers?) the history, reasons and reality behind these ensign issues. But I'm afraid facts do tend to reinforce, rather than dispel, prejudice. And I do have better things to do. However, I will say this - think red ensign wearers who claim to be proud to wear the flag of the merchant convoys of WW2 (usually when berating blue ensigns) There's a clue there.
Go on - explain to this red ensign wearer (who I should point out has never claimed to be "proud to wear" any flag never mind linked it in any way to WW2. To me an ensign is the way to identify the country of origin of a vessel, I've never heard any logical explanation why being able to distinguish a British Pleasure Vessel who's owner was a member of a Royal Yacht Club, or a Naval Officer was a useful thing to do.
 

Wansworth

Well-known member
Joined
8 May 2003
Messages
30,630
Location
SPAIN,Galicia
Visit site
It’s all to do with the rich pagentry of flags the more the merrier,else come to Spain were it’s required bylaw to fly a national flag which in many cases ends up being lefthoisted until it’s unrecognizable bit of cheap cloth .Bringon the diversity and colour…….just keep a eye on the yacht flying the white ensign soyoucan lower your flag correctly at sunset?
 
Top