SACGB Burgee Etiquette
Over the winter I received several requests from skippers asking about the ruling in relation to flying the SACGB burgee and SACGB pennant etiquette in general.
The SACGB burgee can only be flown if there is an SACGB member aboard the boat and when the boat returns to port it should be taken down.
There are two other pennants used. One is dark blue and the other is light blue. Both are flown underneath the SACGB burgee.
When the dark blue pennant is flown it indicates either the boat is about to go sharking or, it has been sharking and is returning to port
The light blue pennants relate to the number of sharks caught and released, and their position indicates the size of the sharks.
For each shark of qualifying size, a light blue pennant is placed between the SACGB burgee and dark blue pennant.
For each shark of less than qualifying size a light blue pennant is placed underneath the dark blue pennant.
So, if a SACGB member is going sharking the burgee/pennant order would be SACGB burgee with a dark blue pennant underneath it.
If five sharks are caught and released, one of which is of qualifying size or bigger the burgee/pennant order for the return journey to port would be, SACGB burgee, one light blue pennant, one dark blue pennant and four light blue pennants in that order.
As a communication method it’s not as quick as email or Facebook but it has a certain style which continues to give it its enduring quality.
The club sells burgees and dark blue pennants and if required can also obtain light blue pennants as they are made locally in Looe.