Ensigns & Permits
Wearing The Ensign
Information for members wishing to wear the Club's Privileged Ensign
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 to 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 permit 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. 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. 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 the Yacht Club from which the Permit is held. No more than two Yacht Club names may be carried on the transom.
The yacht must at all times when wearing the ensign fly the burgee of the Club holding the warrant and issuing the permit.
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. No exceptions are permitted. No other flag may be on the same halyard as the burgee. No other club's burgee may be flown when the Royal Thames Yacht Club burgee is flown. 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 are two types of permit issued by the Club - Owner's and Charterer's. The difference is self-explanatory: the former is for those members whose yachts are privately owned, the latter 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 the two types of permit is in the length of time for which they are issued: an owner's permit is valid (but see below for possible changes) from the time of issue until either the yacht is sold or the person named on the permit ceases to be a member of the Club; a charterer's permit is valid for the period of the charter only, and this is shown on the permit. If the charter is indefinite (for example, from a company owned by the permit-holding member) the charterer's permit is valid from the time of issue until March 31st the following year.
Both the Owner's and the Charterer's Permit Application Forms are available on and can be downloaded from this website.
To obtain a permit, simply download and complete the form and send it (in hard, fileable, paper format) 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.
APPLICATION FOR OWNERS' PERMIT TO WEAR THE BLUE ENSIGN