Once the P Flag is raised, all the right-of-way rules that apply during the start switch on and racers, particularly in team and match racing, are allowed to begin tactically engaging with each other (though in team racing this would happen at minute 2 of the 3-minute start). The P Flag is always required to go up, and it is simply the ‘Prep Flag,’ which signals to the racers that they need to get serious about the race. Hopefully this article will help break down all the most common signals so that when your friend turns to you and asks ‘is that the flag that tells us it's time to go in,’ you’ll be able to help out!Īt 4-minutes, the RC will sound another horn, known as the preparatory signal, and raise some combination of the above flags. That is why I will be going through the official flag meanings and rules from the Racing Rules of Sailing for 2021-2024 to clarify any questions that you might have when the race committee flies a flag that hasn’t been seen since we used Clipper Ships to cross the oceans. We will break down the meanings into the various categories of usage.Ī secret that I have learned over many years of regattas at every level from proverbial ‘beer-can’ races to national championships is that, as well as both you and the race committee can recite the racing flag rules on land, someone is always going to make a mistake or misunderstand these symbols. Moreover, even though there are certain flags that have well-defined roles, race committees may stipulate additional meanings or introduce new flags via an announcement in the sailing instructions for the event, so we will cover some of these more common changes as well. At a regatta, the race committee may fly the Z-flag to indicate an additional penalty for any boat that has crossed the line early.

For instance, in the general nautical world, the Z-flag means that you are in distress and are in need of a tow or relief from a tug boat.

While nautical flags all have defined meanings in a historical context, they have very specific meanings in the context of racing competition.

The flags can give information about starting procedures, course information, and on-the-water judging, so a basic understanding is a crucial part of general seamanship. In this article, we are going to explain the meanings of all the flags used at regattas to communicate with sailors. Where other competitions have umpires and referees right next to the players, sailing race committees have to rely on flags to communicate with sailors.

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