What's going on with the boat?

After ten years living on Tarquilla we have moved to land. I'm often asked if we love the house or miss the boat and the real answer is - both. We still have Tarquilla and we are open to all options at the moment as far as her future is concerned. We will carry on working on her, it would be great to be able to sail her again. The Scilly Isles, Portishead marina, Bristol harbour and Falmouth are all places we have talked about as well as many others further afield. But, on the other hand, if a family was looking for a boat, ready to do the preparation she needs and wanted to take her on then we would sell her. She is not ready to sail off into the sunset but has a lot of life left in her. If you or someone you know would be interested then please contact us. She is 3 ply cold moulded, 42 foot long, one off design built in the 1960's. She has 2 double cabins and 2 single berths, a good size saloon, a decent size galley, head and a covered cockpit. She has two engines and a full suit of sails. We have lots more photos and can provide more details or answer questions. In the meantime, this blog has come to a natural pause for now as we take on new adventures.

Blogtober 29 - Fun with flags

Flags fluttering on boats always look great but there is also a lot of meaning behind the different designs and even the flag positions. For UK boats the law and maritime tradition both play their part in where, when and how flags are flown. 
 
 
small wooden boat with white sail up and dressed over all with signal flags
Looking smart - dressed over all
 
 
The most important flag is the ensign. This shows which country a boat is registered in and is flown as close to the stern as possible. You will often see the Red ensign flown which is the national maritime flag and is frequently referred to affectionately as the red duster. It has a red background with a Unon Jack in the top quarter nearest the pole. There are other special ensigns including dark blue and defaced (with pictures on) which denote different things and require special warrants to use. More unusual is the pale blue ensign of the RAF sailing association. It remains illegal to fly a Union Jack on a civilian vessel. The term Jack comes from a shortening of Jacobus - the Latin version of James - as it was James VI who ordered the creation of the Union flag in 1606.
 

blue sea, blue sky and blue RAF ensign flying
All the summer blues

 
 
The spreaders of the mast are used for the next precedence flags. The starboard spreader is used for signalling including quarantine flags (the Q flag) and courtesy flags which acknowledge the country you are visiting. There are many areas where flags are highly politicised and it is wise to look around at other boats before choosing what to fly. The Basque country stands out as one of them. We have also flown courtesy regional flags several times underneath country flags such as the Breton Gwenn-ha-du (literally translated as black and white). On the port spreader is flown the house flag. These represent the crew of the boat - for us the red dragon of Somerset.
 
 
blue sky, French and Breton courtesy flags flying
French and Breton courtesy flags


And finally, those little flags that are used when a boat is dressed overall - they are signal flags. The same type used by Nelson to spell out England expects that every man shall do his duty.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts