No disrespect meant by club

The Barbados Flag flying alone at the Yacht Club yesterday at 4 p.m. (Shaka Mayers)

By Carol-Ann Tudor | Fri, February 25, 2011 - 12:00 AM

The Barbados Yacht Club has made it clear that no disrespect was intended by having its flag displayed above the National Flag.

And the flag may be back in its original position today now that the club has received confirmation that the positioning of the flags on their naval flagpole is not incorrect.

The club’s commodore Francis Godson told the WEEKEND NATION last night the club received that confirmation from Lieutenant Colonel Sean Reece of Barbados Coast Guard.

When contacted Lieutenant Commander Reece explained: “No other flag should be flown above ours if you have several single flags flowing from different flagpoles, but if you have a flag pole that is in the form of what was originally the mast of an old sailing ship, one where the diagonal pole sticks out from the vertical pole, then the position of honour on that flag pole (called the gaff) is where the Barbados Flag should be and where it was placed. So in essence they do have it in the correct position.”

“If the naval institution has a burgee, then that burgee is flown from the top of the vertical mast, and if you look at the Yacht Club burgee it is being flown from the top of the vertical,” he added.

Not wishing to seem defiant of Barbados’ laws, the Yacht Club removed its flag yesterday after the NATION published a photograph of the flags.