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Yachts' Ensign 1875-1931 (Spain)

Ensign for Recreational Vessels, Pabellón para Embarcaciones de Recreo

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image by Santiago Dotor, 23 November 2005, crown image by Antonio Gutiérrez

Description
Royal Yacht's Ensign 1875-1931

See also:

Yachts' Ensign (Spain)
Other Ensigns and Naval Flags 1785-1931 (Spain)
Historical Flags 1785-1931 (Spain)
Spain

Description

According to Calvo and Grávalos 1983 [cag83], a 1875 Decree established a new ensign for recreational vessels (mostly yachts in practice), a national flag with the coat-of-arms replaced by a large royal crown proper. It was abolished in 1931 and was recovered in 1977 but with an all-blue crown.

Santiago Dotor, 25 Jun 1999

Before 1945, the crown on the Spanish yacht flag used to be proper, that is in natural yellow and red colours with green and red stones and white pearls.

Emil Dreyer, 25 Jun 2000

Luis Miguel Arias has found out the Royal Decree of 10th August 1875 establishing the Spanish yacht ensign. It is clearly stated that the yacht ensign is the same as the war ensign, only replacing the coat-of-arms with a royal crown, so that the latter ought to be placed offset to the hoist – as the coat-of-arms was – and not centred as in the current yacht flag:

Art. 1.º Los buques nacionales de recreo usarán en adelante la misma bandera que los de guerra, con la sóla diferencia de que en el lugar del escudo pondrán sólo la corona Real.
Art. 2.º Los mismos buques podrán arbolar en los topes los distintivos ó contraseñas que sus propietarios tengan por conveniente, siempre que no sean iguales ó puedan confundirse con las insignias en uso en las marinas de guerra, tanto nacional como extranjeras.

Santiago Dotor, 23 Jul 2002

Luis Miguel Arias notes that the 1977 regulation does say the crown is 1/6 as high as the flag but also 1/2 as long – which is almost impossible for a closed royal crown – the open crown on the 1945 flag fitted well in those proportions. If the crown is 1/2 as long, it needs to be 1/3 as high. For the 1875 yacht ensign, he draws the crown 1/4 as high as the flag since that is the correct proportion of the coat-of-arms in the war ensign as shown in regulations of the time.

Santiago Dotor, 23 Nov 2005

Royal Yacht's Ensign 1875-1931

image by Jaume Ollé

Until 1931, the King (i.e. Alfonso XIII, and before him his father Alfonso XII) always used at the stern on his royal sailing yacht Giralda the flag of the Spanish Federation of Nautical Clubs.

Emil Dreyer, 25 Jun 2000