Last modified: 2021-08-25 by christopher oehler
Keywords: royal swedish yacht association | ksss | oscar i (of sweden and norway) | yachting |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
The flags of the Kungliga Svenska Segel Sällskapet (founded 1830) are described and illustrated in [hpa30]. During the two years following its foundation, it seems the yacht club used the ordinary Swedish civil ensign with the red and white union mark. Based on the flag plates (pp. 585-587) in [hpa30], it seems that the KSSS flew four distinct flags:
image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 09 October 2014
The first yacht flag of the KSSS consisted of Swedish war ensign, swallow tailed and with the red and white union canton, defaced with the cipher of Crown Prince Oscar (later king Oscar I) on a white panel set over the intersection of the arms of the cross. The cipher consisted of the letter O and a crown princely crown.
image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 09 October 2014
When the war ensign of Sweden changed to incorporate the new union badge, the herring salad, the yacht flag of the KSSS also changed. However, the cipher remained the same as that in the first ensign.
image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 09 October 2014
In 1878 the cipher was changed to the royal cipher with a royal crown.
When the union with Norway was dissolved in 1905,
the effect on flags in both countries were the removal of the union badge.
Consequently, the yacht flag of the KSSS also changed in this way, though the
cipher remained the same. The yacht flag privilege of the KSSS lapsed with the
Swedish flag act of 1906.
Jan Oskar Engene, 14 November 2001
My guess is that the post-Union ensign of the KSSS,
that is with the Union badge removed, was flown adopted by the yacht club based
on tradition but without legal backing - but probably only for the 1907
sailing season, when the consequences of the flag act became apparent also to
the yachting community.
Jan Oskar Engene, 28 December 2001
Pennant in literature
image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 09 October 2014
Pennant in photograph
image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 09 October 2014
All that to be able to report that Register of Yachts - Ensigns and
burgees of yacht clubs and distinguishing flags of yachtsmen [LLo61b?]
shows the Swedish flag as a special yacht club ensign for the KSSS (and
that's all I'll say about that), and shows a triangular burgee. Yacht
Club Burgees, Colin Stewart [ste57] and The Dumpy Pocket Book of Sailing
Dinghies and Yachts [ele60], all three indicating a lighter blue colour
than the standard blue (which would be the one used for British Blue
Ensigns). I guess that compared to the cruising pennant, this is indeed a light
blue.
I don't know when the current set of flags was introduced, but the
entries in these books suggest that a different shape was used
previously. I did indeed find a
photograph of a similar design, but it's
black and white, and it has no border along the hoist.
This version is more like that in the photograph, though the type of crown is
actually different, and as the picture is black and white, the colour is
not certain. (Photograph is public domain.)
The KSSS can be found at http://www.ksss.se/en. As the club was
founded in 1839 and first in 1878 became Royal, it may well be the
original version of the burgee did not have a crown. I found no
description for the burgee, either current or historical, however.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 09 October 2014