A Club Burgee is the distinguising flag that identifies from which Yacht Club or organization a boat may hail. Originating in the nineteenth century, a burgee serves as the "private signal" for the owner of the vessal.
Each club's burgee is registered with the International Burgee Commission and is unique to that yacht club. Hanging from the rafters in the Members’ Lounge are burgees from yacht clubs that have visited us or that our members have visited. It is a yacht club tradition to not just extend reciprocal privileges to members, but to exchange burgees.
Properly Flying the Burgee
Only present members of the Rhode Island Yacht Club are authorized to fly the club's burgee. If your boat is a mastless or single-masted yacht, fly your burgee from the bow staff. Boats without a bow staff should wear a burgee at the truck of a single-master yacht. Modern sailing vessels tend to fly the burgee from the starboard spreader. If your boat has two or more masts, fly your burgee at the truck of the forward mast. If you are a member of two yacht clubs or organizations, do not display more than one burgee at a time. The burgee your boat wears should be that of the group in whose activity you are participating, or whose harbor you are entering.
Flying flags of the proper size also shows that the boat owner is a seaman. The national ensign flown at a flag staff at the stern of your boat should be one inch on the fly for each foot of overall length. All other flags such as club burgees, officer flags, and private signals for use on sailboats should be approximately 1/2 inch on the fly for each foot above the waterline of the tallest mast on the boat. (That is, if the top of the mast is 30 feet above the waterline, these other flags should be 15 inches on the fly.) On powerboats, these flags should be 5/8 inch on the fly for each foot of overall length.
Officers' Personal Flags
Officers and certain members of the board of directors have flags that they may fly in place of a personal flag. You can recognize these officers by his or her flags:
- Commodore, whose blue flag had a white angled fouled anchor surrounded by 13 stars
- Vice-Commodore, whose red flag has a white angled fouled anchor surrounded by 13 stars
- Rear-Commodore, whose white flag has a red angled fouled anchor, surroounded by 13 stars
- Secretary, whose flag is a blue flag with white crossed quills
- Treasurer, whose flag is a white acorn on a blue background
Past Commodores' have their own flag, which is a blue flag with an angled fouled anchor with three large white starts next to the hoist.
The remaining board members' flags are listed below:
- Fleet Captain - an angled blue fould anchor on a white field
- Membership - white crossed quills on a red field
- Fleet Surgeon - red caduceus on a white field
- House Chair - white crossed keys on a red field
- Race Chair - an upright red fouled anchor with the letter R near the hoise, and the letter C on the opposite side of the anchor from the letter R. The letters are white on a blue field.
- All other members of the board of directors are identified by their flag, a white, downward pointed chevron on a blue field.