Frogwatch wrote:
Hmm, I wouldnt fly one myself but why would a Jolly Roger make anybody
look any more foolish than some of the faux sailing stuff people do.
Every time I see someone wearing a captains hat I groan inside thinking
"What a doofus".

I agree up to a point on the captain's hat. There's nothing wrong, IMO,
with wearing a cap with a bill to shade the eyes from sunlight. I guess
this could be a Hooter's cap, a Yankees cap, or a cap splattered with
white paint and embroidered with the phrase "damn seagulls!"! I wear a
simple, black, "Greek fisherman's" hat that isn't the least bit ornate.
Now, make that a high white hat with a shiny black bill, a fouled
anchor on the crown and even the first suggestion of "scrambled eggs"
and I'd be agreeing with you whole heartedly.


"Burgees" put me in that mind too although I can
understand part of the reason for having them. Every time I see
someone trying to look "Yachtie" I want to burn and pillage.


Burgees serve a very practical purpose, as they identify members of
various power squadrons and yacht clubs and convey some particular
privileges as a result. We've been in and out of clubs over the years,
but we're in again and will probably stay with the club we joined about
a year ago. My club dues are about $500 a year, but I easily saved that
last summer by taking advantage of free reciprocal moorage as we cruise
through our regional islands. You need to fly a burgee to get the
recip. My club also owns and leases some "outstation" properties where
members can stay free of charge, but once again members are required to
fly a burgee when doing so. A burgee also expresses a certain amount of
pride in belonging to a specific organization- not unlike an NRA or
Ducks Unlimited bumper sticker. When a person belongs to a very large
club or squadron, and particularly when a person is a new member, the
burgee helps to identify other members of the same organization and
that can be a good "ice breaker" in a strange port.