Ensigns & Permits
Wearing The Ensign
Information for members wishing to wear the Club's Privileged Ensign
(there is a useful set of answers to frequently asked questions here)
General:
A member flies the Club's burgee. The Member's yacht wears the Club's ensign.
The Club holds a warrant from the Ministry of Defence authorising its members to wear a Special or Privileged Ensign. This is currently the undefaced Blue Ensign.
Some of the regulations regarding the wearing of the Privilege Ensign are law (the Merchant Shipping Act 1894, as amended) and some are Club bye-laws.
The Club holds the warrant, and issues permits to members. Members themselves do not hold warrants. The Club makes no charge to Members for a permit.
The Law:
Permits are issued to individuals, not to the yacht. To be issued with a permit, the individual must be a Full member of Royal Thames Yacht Club, and a British subject. If the yacht has more than one owner, each individual must hold a permit. One of the permitted individuals must be on board or in effective control, and that the permit is on board, if the Privileged Ensign is being worn. Not all joint-owners need be members of Royal Thames Yacht Club, but each must hold current membership of a club that has been issued with a Warrant by the Secretary of State. All the joint-owners must be British subjects.
The yacht must be registered as a British ship under either Part 1 or Part 3 (the Small Ships Register) of the British Register. Details of how to register, and a down-loadable application form, are available from the Registry of Shipping and Seamen, PO Box 420, Cardiff CF24 5XR and at www.mcga.gov.uk. The yacht must be privately owned or pirvately chartered. The yacht must be being used for private pleasure purposes only and no form of commercial activity may occur on board while the ensign is being worn. Images of the yacht wearing the Blue Ensign may not subsequently be used for commercial purposes. The yacht's name may not contain any commercial element, including that of a sponsoring company or product.
The yacht must have marked on her transom either the Port of Registry or the name of a Yacht Club to which a Warrant from the Secretary of State has been issued. No more than two Yacht Club names may be carried on the transom.
The yacht must measure more than 4.5 tons, or 7 metres overall, depending on the method of Registration.
If members break these laws, the MoD can act (and is known to have done so) to withdraw a Club's warrant.
The Club Rules:
In addition to the above, the Club's Yachting Bye-Laws require that the Club's burgee be flown, at the masthead, never from the spreaders nor from rod rigging, while the Club's ensign is being worn. No exceptions are permitted. If the burgee cannot be flown from the masthead, the Privilege Ensign may not be worn (a standard British maritime ensign - the Red Ensign - should then be worn instead). If the yacht does not have a mast (e.g. a motor yacht) the burgee may be flown from a jackstaff forward. For more information on how the RTYC burgee can be flown from the masthead click here
Applying For A Permit:
There is only one type of blue permit issued by the Club - where previously we issued an Owner's and a Charterer's permit separately we now only issue one permit for those members whose yachts are privately owned, and for those members whose yachts are owned by a company, from which the yacht is chartered. Who owns the company is irrelevant.
The principal significant difference between permits issued for privtely-owned and for chartered yachts is in the length of time for which the permits are issued. If the yacht is privately owned, the permit is valid for a period of five years (expiring 31st March) or until either the yacht is sold or the person named on the permit ceases to be a member of the Club. For a member charterering a yacht, we will only issue a permit valid for the period of the charter, and this is shown on the permit. If the charter is indefinite (for example, from a company owned by the permit-holding member) then the permit is valid from the time of issue for a period of five years ended on 31st March.
Application Forms are available on this website to download.
To obtain a permit, simply download and complete the 2 forms linked below and send them both in hard (fileable, paper format or by email attachment that can be downloaded, printed and filed), along with a copy (not the original) of the Yacht's Certificate of Registry on either Part 1 or Part 3 of the British Register - to the Sailing Office, 60 Knightsbridge, LONDON SW1X 7LF.
The permit is normally issued immediately, subject only to delays caused by pressures of other business, and posted to you directly.
It is as simple as that.
Withdrawal or Suspension of Permits:
The Club will withdraw or suspend the Permit of a member whose yacht is seen or shown to have been wearing the Privilege ensign in breach of either the law or the Club's byelaws. This action is taken to safeguard for other members the Club's Warrant and the privilege of wearing the undefaced Blue. Such a course would not be undertaken without the member responsible for the alleged breach being given a proper opportunity to answer any such allegation.