NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: lights and shapes
From: Trevor Kenchington
Date: 2003 Jun 14, 23:05 -0300
From: Trevor Kenchington
Date: 2003 Jun 14, 23:05 -0300
John Germain wrote:
> Vessels engaged in racing should not be flying an Ensign: then their signals become private.
>
> My best guess.
John,
I suspect that the _official_ issue is that a signal made with IC flags
isn't an IC signal unless it is preceded by the hoisting of the
Answering Pennant, with the recipient of the signal then hoisting his
Answering Pennant to the dip -- followed by the whole game with bits of
coloured bunting that is laid down in the code book.
Of course, nobody ever does that any more and an Alpha flag indicates a
dive boat or a Hotel flag a ship with a pilot aboard whenever the said
flag is displayed.
On the other hand, the _real_ issue is that we are expected to interpret
signals with common sense and local knowledge. In one harbour I used to
frequent, the Zulu flag was the accepted signal, by a yacht on a
swinging mooring, requesting a visit from the club launch so that the
yacht's crew could get ashore. Zulu, of course, means "I require a tug"
(unless made by a fishing vessel on the fishing grounds, in which case
it means "I am shooting nets") but, when made by a yacht in a harbour
that has no tugs, that would be nonsensical and the local usage was
appropriate and understood by all.
The dual use of the Bravo flag fits into a similar bracket. So did the
old use of the Papa flag as a preparatory signal in yacht racing (a
signal that I think has long-since been dropped from the rule book). A
committee boat flying Papa was not signalling "All persons should report
on board as the vessel is about to proceed to sea" nor "My nets have
come fast on an obstruction", which are the two International Code
meanings of the single-letter signal Papa.
Trevor Kenchington
--
Trevor J. Kenchington PhD Gadus@iStar.ca
Gadus Associates, Office(902) 889-9250
R.R.#1, Musquodoboit Harbour, Fax (902) 889-9251
Nova Scotia B0J 2L0, CANADA Home (902) 889-3555
Science Serving the Fisheries
http://home.istar.ca/~gadus
