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25th October 2020, 10:50 AM
#1
Yellow Jack.
Watched a film last night on tv titled Inferno. Mentioned during the film was the word quarantine which does have a relevance today.
It seems that the word has been used since Biblical times. The word Quarentena means 40 miles which was the distance ships were required to remain during periods of Black Death and Bubonic Plague. I wonder whether ships today would still be required to fly the 'Q' flag or has the technology made the practice redundant.
Gilly
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25th October 2020, 10:59 AM
#2
Re: Yellow Jack.
Good question John, There has been a Passenger ship with its crew and passengers stranded aboard i think she is one of the Viking group being refused a berth in quite a few country's because covid was aboard, As you say covid is everywhere in the world so who fly's the yellow jack the ship or the port.
{terry scouse}
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25th October 2020, 11:13 PM
#3
Re: Yellow Jack.
Added out of possible interest.
Former Sandhurst commandant hoists 'plague flag' outside his Littleferry home and vows it will fly until nation emerges from other side of pandemic: https://www.northern-times.co.uk/new...ndemic-196826/
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25th October 2020, 11:40 PM
#4
Re: Yellow Jack.
Seems to have slipped my memory, or maybe the ICS has changed ? cant remember what L stood for Something like " The way is off my vessel, you may feel your way past me" however could be wrong on that one, but not for the Q flag which was "My vessel is healthy and I request free Pratique". and stayed there until it was granted.
Think this Plague flag came up once before with a possible explanation, must be getting decrepit as cant remember. JS.
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26th October 2020, 05:38 AM
#5
Re: Yellow Jack.
On a cruise ship a few years back and there was a bad outbreak of Noro Virus.
We docked in a couple of NZ ports with the yellow quarentine flag flying.
First time I had seen that in years.
Happy daze John in Oz.
Life is too short to blend in.
John Strange R737787
World Traveller
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26th October 2020, 05:54 AM
#6
Re: Yellow Jack.
In my time the Q flag was always flown when coming in from abroad, and stated what already have said. However it was mostly the days before Radio Pratique , and clear Bills of Health being assigned by people with the advantages of being able to look and decide from hundreds of miles away they must have had mediums in their ancestry, very clever people and able to save certain individuals countless tens of thousands of dollars. The old adage time is money was alive and well. Today it has descended with a big thump to earth and doubt it will ever return to what it once was. As regards Europe and its open borders I hope they have better minds than those in the past who must bear some responsibility for the fiasco going as far as it has. JS
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26th October 2020, 09:01 AM
#7
Re: Yellow Jack.
AaH! that 'Q' flag always a bone of contention in OZ ports as the general feeling was that port health was in cahoots with Customs and would not allow the Q flag to be lowered until the Rummage Squad had finished thus giving them uninterrupted access. Radio free pratique was granted on our second visit but Port Health wanted the 'Q' flag to be flown, but Capt Churchill refused saying 'My vessel has either got Free Pratigue or it hasn't, but you've already granted it and my vessel needs to start loading' of course having stevedores and port officials roaming around the vessel whilst rummage gangs were trying to do their most to upset the crew by finding their piddling little amounts of baccy didn't go down well with Customs; and Customs were not flavour of the month with stevedores, so their co-operation was not forthcoming either.
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26th October 2020, 10:40 AM
#8
Re: Yellow Jack.
Agree. The Revenue Men were never the flavour of the month. I paid off in Southampton from a Castle boat and strolled ashore confident that I'd evaded the rummage, as my luggage was on it's way to the station courtesy of the baggage man at a cost of 10 shillings. Bottom of the gangway I was apprehended by two customs Statzi, taken to a hut and strip searched. Later I was escorted to another office where on a table were the contents of my suitcase. There was quite a lot of contraband in evidence and I was given a choice of paying the duty or having it conforscated. When added up the amount was twice what I'd paid for it, so I chose the first offer.
Whether I had been shopped by someone aboard or random checks were made at the luggage office, as to retrieve your luggage your name and vessel were required. I'm sure there are many more smugglers tales aboard here.
Gilly
Last edited by John Gill; 26th October 2020 at 10:44 AM.
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26th October 2020, 10:41 AM
#9
Re: Yellow Jack.
The Q flag like the Ensign was mandatory to be flown by all ships coming in from abroad. There used to be a fine of 5 pounds for non compliance for the ensign, maybe was the same for the Q flag. If these fines were not kept upto inflation no one is going to give a rats rearend whether flown or not. The cargo ship where the real work was done Had to be entered in at the custom house on arrival and to do this the ship had to be cleared in. Time as regards the voyage charter did not start until 24 hours after acceptance. The various clauses in a voyage charter plus all the extra ones added by various people as regards laydays demurrage weather working days and time lost plus all the others, would depend on the success or failure money wise of that voyage, as fines etc. could be exorbidant. So the quicker a ship is out of Quarantine the better as far as the owners and others concerned about profit and loss the better. There is a lot of undercurrents and people throwing their weight around when you delay shipping the way it has had to be done over the last few months. It takes a strong man to make those decisions and to stick by them , those whoever have stuck by the old Quarantine rules will be at least able to sleep at night. JS
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26th October 2020, 10:42 AM
#10
Re: Yellow Jack.
JS
If my memory serves me right,
LlMA is "you should stop your vessel instantly".
Think it's MIKE for "vessel is stopped and making no way through the water".
The stuff we remember is amazing (but useless for us now). COLREGS I can still recite word for word, Morse still most words, flags, but formula have to look up, especially celestial nav
Rgds
J.A.
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