Navy blue
When reading Bob Craig’s letter headed ‘Flag it up’ in the May 2018 issue, it reminded me of the time some years ago when my wife and I sailed our trusty Nicholson 32 Splashdown into the French port of Cammeray. Having left the boat in the marina to search for food, mainly some fresh baguettes, we returned to Splashdown to find a small French yacht tied to the opposite side of the pontoon, looking as though it needed a lot of TLC. When the quite elderly owners returned, the man went below but the lady, seeing our defaced blue ensign, asked about this and in English, I tried to explain the best way I could. She replied in her broken English with the comment, ‘When we see a blue ensign on an English yacht, we always say, “Ah, yet another British Admiral.”’ Then she immediately went below to join her husband. My wife and I stood in the cockpit feeling a little embarrassed, as neither of us have any naval connection, then went below to pour ourselves a couple of stiff G&TS. Derek Bunting