#maritime signal flags

[mattaytchtaylor]

IYKYK

[clove-pinks]

Nelson’s signal at Trafalgar

The first edition of Popham’s Telegraphic Signals or Marine Vocabulary was printed in 1800; a more comprehensive version was produced in 1803, and a further much expanded edition using letters as well as numbers in 1812. This was issued to the navy in 1813, and from that time, vocabulary signals were part of the official flag signalling code of the Royal Navy.

Nelson’s signal to the fleet before the beginning of the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805 read ENGLAND EXPECTS THAT EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY and was made in Popham’s vocabulary, using the numerical flags of the general Signal Book as re-arranged in 1803. The signals officer of the Victory at the time was Lieutenant John Pasco, who gave, many years later, this account of the incident:

His Lordship came to me on the poop, and after ordering certain signals to be made, about a quarter to noon, he said, ‘Mr Pasco, I wish to say to the fleet, “England confides that every man will do his duty”’, and he added, ‘you must be quick for I have one more to make, which is Close Action’. I replied, ‘if your Lordship will permit me to substitute the “expects” for “confides”, the signal will soon be completed, because the word “expects” is in the vocabulary, and “confides” must be spelt.’ His Lordship replied in haste, and with seeming satisfaction, ‘That will do, Pasco, make it directly’; when it had been answered by a few ships in the van, he ordered me to make the signal for Close Action and to keep it up, accordingly I hoisted No. 16 at the top-gallant mast-head and there it remained until shot away.

— Timothy Wilson, Flags at Sea

In J.M.W. Turner's 1822 painting, The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805, part of the word DUTY may be seen in the visible signal flags of HMS Victory.

[yeetoscope]

This is how I will tell people I have autism.

[infantisimo]

"One mind trying to envision everything that could happen, everything that could go wrong, everything that one ship of humans could ever need to say to another. There is something tender about the tendency toward thoroughness. And then something grave about how the language effloresces, absurdly, into such dark specificity."

[sapphicsundial]

Don’t cry, butch sailors that flag with their maritime signals ok?

[good--merits-accumulated]

very niche thing alert!

AKA: I Translated Todd’s Poem Into International Maritime Signal Flags.

"i love being out autismed" - @desire-mona, 2024

What's an International Maritime Signal Flag? I'm glad you asked! They're flags used to communicate between ships:

The International Code of Signals is a comprehensive guide to what combination of flags means what. Taken together, you can create an impressively large range of meanings with them.

Anyway! Onto the poem:

So I wasn't quite sure where this was going until the last few stanzas, when it became clear that this poem was no longer Todd's monologue but a dialogue between two ships, one sinking and the other unhearing (ignoring? avoiding?). The translation gave it a new dimension - it should be noted that all translations fail to preserve the exact meaning of their source - this one just took it a little farther. The poem became a call to be understood, in the same way that much of Neil's story is a call to be understood; it's misunderstood - the boys laugh - in the same way Neil is misunderstood. That gulf of silence between him and his father, that scene in his father's study where he does not justify himself, may as well be a gulf composed of water.

Both poetry and signal flags are last resorts - they are there to be used if all other methods of communication prove ineffective. They are desperate. There is a desperation, too, to the use of signal flags:

(At Sea, Merritt Tierce)

This film, after all, is about speaking to other people in languages they do not understand. This film is a code. It is coded. So, too, is poetry, and so, too, is translation. Through translation and through code I tell you that I AM HERE, that I WISH TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU, that I WAS GOOD. I WAS REALLY GOOD. Can you understand me now? Was my act of deciphering still not enough?

(For more signal flag poems, check out Code Poems by Hannah Weiner.)

[ltwilliammowett]

Shot across the bow

In the 18th century, a warning shot (often referred to in nautical terms as a shot across the bow) could be fired at any ship whose "colours" (nationality) had to be established. According to maritime law, a ship so summoned had to hoist its flag and confirm this with a shot. Warning shots could still be used today to signal a ship to stop or keep its distance, a warning that is still used today.

But you can also get a shot across the bow in everyday life. Especially when someone gives you one - usually verbally - it warns you that your action was not a good one and you should watch what you are doing and stop that behaviour or statement. So this should also be understood as a warning.

[uwabbittuwabbit]

in my head these r what miyazaki ghibli pairings map onto what motogp ships:

-rosquez are obviously howl and sophie, which i go more into depth into here. its also important that sophie and howl get into the fight about howl's hair, because sophie ultimately does go back, puts on her business face etc. i think the timeline would work out like, they get into that big argument whatever its about but marc goes back, vale tries to make up for it with the ring and beautifying marc's clothes and eventually the house in the mountains but during that time its like their relationship is completely frozen even though they're living in the same house...marc considers moving out to live with alex etc. just becomes older with his withdrawal because of the curse. And then vale moves the castle to marc's old home. sophie is also like very much obligated to her family as the oldest daughter (which is why she stays in the hat shop) which is very marc! he wants to make his people happy...Also don't tell me fuck ass bob vale DOESN'T scream young howl to you. say it to my face. u can't.

-enea/casey are san and ashitaka from princess mononoke. just imagine the "im going to cut ur throat/ur beautiful" scene with them...i dont think casey necessarily gets cured from the illness that he gets from the corrupted forest god it just becomes part of him, so its no longer killing him after the forest god's head is returned but still ails him. hes from a super far secret civilization and cant go back after being banished (kind of like how u can't fade into obscurity after rising to fame). rides an antelope looking thing and is so so noble. enea is feral and living with the wolves. hates humans. but when this stranger comes and gets shot in his name he can't help but feel something other than that hatred he has felt all of his life. chews casey's food for him and delivers it mouth to mouth when he's too weak to eat...the same mouth that spat out the poisoned blood around the mother wolf's bullet wound. etc.

-cele/bezz r sosuke and ponyo, but they also have the potential to be kiki(bezz) and tombo(cele) and sheeta(cele) and pazu(bezz)...to me cele is sosuke, the weird kid who lives in the house on a hill (alone), signals ships at night just to talk to somebody and flies maritime flags. likes to fix stuff, has a tiny little dinky car. works as a daycare science teacher taking the kids on trips to catch bugs and frogs but also helps out at the nursing home next door, fixing the wheelchairs of the residents and like taking them out for fresh air while the kids tag along. thats summer though and in the winter he helps out at the dock and on fishing boats. he would love you if you were a worm, in short. bezz's misadventures get him stuck in a jar (he could cry he's so embarrassed) but cele finds him when testing his newest like little motorized toy boat prototype he wants to show the kids and bezz IMMEDIATELY falls in love, it's crazy. you bet he licked the blood off of cele's gashed finger just like that. is absolutely INDULGING in the attention he gets when cele brings him in for Show And Tell/Storytime and explains in his pondering voice how he found bezz. gets sloshed on that forbidden magic juice right after getting plopped back home and runs on giant fucking waves as cele commutes home to impress him. all cele feels is like, mild concern like damn do i have to detour home? i would have known if there was some major meteorological event coming my way. when the curly haired stranger with an earnest smile shows up at his home and engulfs him in a hug, he meets it with the same bewilderment but because bezz feels familiar. consequentially is not very impressed or surprised about bezz being a fish loool. i was just picturing the thumbnail of this video the entire time i wrote this and that's literally their whole vibe. that's bezz in cele's tub right there. this post is getting away from me more than it already is so ill like do a quick preface of the other premises...bezz is a witch and his familiar is rubik...flies away to a big city and meets cele with his homemade flying contraptions...gets tattoed for the first time by some random artist in the woods...becomes depressed...can't fly anymore...cele is the last member of a royal family and falls from the sky after being held on an airship, with bezz as the one to catch him...bezz has always wanted adventure because his father was one of the few people to have ever seen the fabled castle in the sky...wants to take his chances with cele...cele's billowing curls and tragic eyes...all bezz wants to do is make him happy...all cele wants is to go home.

-luca/pecco as haku and chihiro from spirited away. their whole vibe is childhood friends that grew apart and then rekindled imo. when they meet in the spirit world luca introduces himself as maro and to pecco he seems familiar; you how it was on a playground when you were young and you knew everything about someone except for their name? so maro it is, and he takes pecco's hand when he cries about his roommates (pecco's in college and ended up in an abandoned places exploration group with them) being turned into pigs and is panicking about not being able to go home and is generally a mess and tells him to get up from where he's been curled up into a ball and run with him to the bathhouse where he gets a job and becomes just pecco, no francesco because his name gets taken away. life is pretty tough for pecco at first and he's very lonely while luca is away doing missions for the boss, which is most of the time. hes also very insecure and fears luca leaving him because he's not good enough. but he puts his head down and slowly earns respect from his peers. starts standing up for himself and becoming more confident, and eventually has his standout moment for completely cleansing a polluted spirit. luca (a river spirit) fell in love with pecco when he fell into him and wasn't able to swim. even though that was very much an embarrassing moment what made it worse were pecco's flailing attempts to keep his head above water, but that was what endeared him to luca. it was his stupidly stubborn will to keep his nose to the grindstone even when it filled his mouth with water and got him nowhere. that is how a river thinks, and luca could never forget pecco's lanky straggling form as he struggled up the banks of the river, wretched and alive but triumphant for doing so.

[sudriantraveler]

Some Salty Headcanons

I imagine Salty has worked in several places before coming to Sodor, but always by the sea. In fact, I'm just gonna say that Salty was quite the world traveler before coming to Sodor. The dockside diesel has worked in harbors all over the world, and is just as well traveled as even the most experienced of sailors.

Salty’s shed houses an impressive collection of maritime items. There’s a fishing net draped across the entrance like a canopy, and the inside is cluttered with a collection of stuff which rivals even the collections of some museums.

There’s an old anchor, a collection of telescopes, compasses, sextants, and other navigational aids, several shelves of model ships, signal flags festooning the walls, he’s even got a 17th century naval cannon tucked away in the back of the shed!

And several of these items have some sort of story attached which makes them more sentimental than just cool looking souvenirs. One of these is an old ship's helm, which was gifted to Salty by an old fishing trawler who was based in one of the ports he used to work at, and who Salty was close friends with. The ship claimed it was from a former fleetmate and supposedly gave them good luck, they gave it to Salty saying they hoped it would bring them good luck as well.

Barely a week after the old helm was gifted to Salty, the fishing trawler was lost at sea in a storm.

The helm is not kept in Salty’s shed like the rest of his collection. It is instead kept in his cab, so that if it does bring good luck it can help him throughout the day.

[time-being]

hello ! you might have already answered this but what does the flag in your pfp indicate? thank you for your time :)

That's a fun question, and I haven't answered it!

It is the International Maritime Signal Flag for J / "Juliet"

The interpretation as a signal flag is: "I am on fire and have dangerous cargo on board: keep well clear of me."

[medealikethesorceress]

As a classical student, I find it fun to try to think of what attributes ancient artists might give my favourite characters today if they were to depict them in art to distinguish them from one another. Here are some things I'd think to give the Austen heroines:

Catherine Morland: Book (obviously)

Elinor Dashwood: A stoic-looking mask. An abacus to symbolise her sense, alternatively.

Marianne Dashwood: Horse (a reference to Willoughby's present as well as her marrying the military man Brandon) A paintbrush/instrument to symbolise her sensibility, alternatively.

Anne Elliot: Something maritime. Maybe a model ship, a signaling flag, a spyglass, etc.

Emma Woodhouse: A mirror (fairly obvious symbolism)

Fanny Price: Theater binoculars (a reference to her comparatively passive and observational role in the story as well as her refusal to participate in the staging of Lovers' Vows)

As for the Bennets, I'll be honest and say that nothing really came to mind. I couldn't think of any major props nor anything to symbolise them as characters. I'm sure it exists though.

Please let me know if you have more ideas!

[clove-pinks]

I'm a little annoyed by that maritime flag signaling article going around—you know, the one written by a novelist, who only seems to have a passing familiarity with the International Code of Signals developed in the later 19th century, and not any earlier maritime flag codes. Of course I'm going to be put out that there's no mention of my very special historical blorbo, Captain Frederick Marryat and his pioneering Code of Signals, but the writer missed the mark in other ways, too.

The limited vocabulary of code books invariably affects what will be communicated. Possibly the most famous set of flag signals of all time, Lord Nelson's message in Popham's Code at the Battle of Trafalgar, was also subject to revision and last-minute edits by the constraints of the code. The choice to spell out D-U-T-Y is a master stroke of meaning.

The writer can't imagine two ships signalling, "Emetic has been given without good results," but we know that all sorts of seemingly trivial conversations were had using maritime flags: including a discussion of spoilers for one of Captain Marryat's own novels! Ordinary people also used Marryat's code, designed for merchant vessels, to exchange clandestine messages in newspapers.

[voidlessmaze]

okok lemme just…start sth

so i was wondering what this flag was in the background of the new volume cover, right?? because i thought it was weird (if there is a flag like this in the mha universe feel free to tell me but i wouldn’t know). so i was doing some research and looking around

and those where the only ones that showed up where the colours were in the right order (you could argue that maybe the flag is hanging down but the white stripe is significantly larger than the other two so i do think it’s hanging correctly and just cut off at the corners.)

and obviously most of those don’t really make sense except of maybe the maritime signal flags, which are flags that are used to communicate with ships. and the tango flag (red white blue) does kinda have a ??? suiting meaning?? which is “keep clear of me” or local time??

(why would he be using maritime signals tho?? idk if that would make much sense?? like what ship are they communicating with??)

anyways then i was thinking that because of the chair they are sitting on, the flag does remind me of another one in the upper list of possible flags because see…

it does look awfully close?? but??? wHY WOULD HORI CHOOSE THE FLAG OF A PROVINCE IN ARGENTINA??? does nooot make sense

either way i have no idea what this flag means or if hori was just feeling funny but for some reason i really i really want to know

[flagwars]

People’s Flag Wars 2: Round 2, Bracket 5

See the symbolism below.

Carmel, Indiana is a flag redesign by scottishdoge.

Symbolism:

“Blue: Good Fortune and Prosperity

Gold: Happiness

White: Peace and Balance

Star: Ode to the original name of the city: Bethlehem

Design: Carmel is the Roundabout Capital of the US, so I wanted to use the roundabout design as a significant flag feature. On the reverse side, the lines (or lanes in this symbolism) are reversed as well, a subtle nod to our international influencers--who drive on the other side of the road--that have helped the city become more progressive in our ideas and lifestyle. The crossbar with a star in the middle is an ode to the Indianapolis flag, and the off-center, enhanced circle resembles the original design by Roger Gohl.”

Portland, Maine is a flag redesign by Flag For Portland.

Symbolism: “Portland's connection to the sea remains a strong part of our shared identity, even if maritime trade no longer dominates the economy. The symbolism of a safe and secure port to ride out a storm is meaningful in any era, but the events that inspired this flag are the times this community has rallied to overcome challenges both historical (rebuilding after devastating fires) and contemporary (rallying to support front-line workers and local businesses during the pandemic).

Influenced by: the "Papa" flag, a blue border around a white field represents the letter "P" in the International Code of Signals. The "Vessel at Anchor" flag is one of the original signal flags used by Lemuel Moody, builder and operator of the Portland Observatory to communicate between ships, owners, and dock workers during Portland's maritime heyday.”

[captainbadmintonsgoodeye]

flag signal alert!! 🚩🏴‍☠️🚩🏴‍☠️

Javid Denkins has morse code in his bio and tumblr header. The bio reads "WHO AM I."

The header image reads:

"As a general rule only one hoist should be shown at a time. Each hoist or group of hoists should be kept flying until it has been answered by the receiving station. When more groups than one are shown on the same halyard they must be separated by a tackline. The transmitting station should always hoist the signal where it can be most easily seen by the receiving station, that is, in such a position that the flags will blow out clear and be free from smoke."

This is from the Flag Signal section of this maritime safety information document.

[beardedmrbean]

After Hamas’ October 7 attack sparked the Israel-Hamas war, Hamas supporters have increasingly targeted Middle Eastern waters with anti-Israeli attacks.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have conducted several hostile maritime operations to signal their solidarity with Palestine and opposition to Israel. Houthi, officially Ansar Allah, is a Shia Islamist political and military organization that controls roughly one-third of Yemen’s most-populated territory.

On December 3, Houthi rebels launched a barrage of drone and missile strikes on commercial ships in the Red Sea, hitting three vessels.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for two of the attacks.

Responding to distress calls from the vessels under attack, the USS Carney, an Arleigh-Burke Class destroyer, “engaged and shot down” several unmanned aerial vehicles “launched from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen,” U.S. Central Command said.

“These attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security,” the U.S. Central Command said. “The United States will consider all appropriate responses in full coordination with its international allies and partners.”

Yemen's Houthi Revolutionary Committee president, Mohammad Ali Al-Houthi, responded by denying the right of the U.S. military to be in the region, or to respond to those attacks.

“The Americans have no right to the Red Sea to announce that they reserve the right to respond. And to confirm this, they will not accept any military presence by China or Russia or others in the regional waters, for example near Florida or elsewhere,” Al-Houthi claimed in a December 3 post on X.

That claim is false.

Under international law, there is nothing prohibiting U.S. military vessels from navigating international waters or defending themselves or others from destructive attacks.

The Houthis, an armed-non state actor, have repeatedly targeted vessels engaged in global shipping, illegally threatening international navigation and maritime security.

“The world’s commercial fleet engaged in transporting the world’s goods and exercising the right of freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, is entitled to do so safely and without fear of attack,” a spokesperson for the London-based International Chamber of Shipping, one of the world's principal shipping organizations, told Polygraph.info in a written comment.

“However, as we have seen in this case and previous incidents, commercial ships can become vulnerable to attack when traversing areas of high political tension, such as the Red Sea, at this time,” they said. “The international community has an obligation, indeed a duty, to protect the commercial fleet from such attacks.”

The Houthis have attempted to claim the commercial ships are “legitimate targets” by labeling them as being “Israeli” or “associated with Israelis.”

The same justification was used when Houthis hijacked the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader commercial ship last month. Galaxy Leader is owned by Abraham Ungar, an Israeli international shipping mogul, although the ship is operated by Nippon Yusen, a Japanese shipping company.

Under Article 92 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), ships are subject to the “exclusive jurisdiction” of the flags under which they fly.

None of the ships attacked by the Houthis on December 3 are registered in Israel, fly the flag of Israel, or are otherwise connected to a state or entity that is party to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The Israeli Defense Force has likewise said none of the ships have links to the state of Israel.

The first ship to be hit on December 3, the Unity Explorer, is owned by U.K.-registered Unity Explorer LTD.

Reports indicate that Unity Explorer LTD’s director, David Ungar, has Israeli citizenship, although he is also a British national who resides in the United Kingdom.

The Unity Explorer is a Bahama-flagged cargo carrier and thus subject to the laws and regulations of the Bahamas.

The next ship to be struck by the Houthis was M/V Number 9, a Panama-flagged container ship owned by Number 9 Shipping Ltd, which is managed by Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK-based Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, Reuters reported.

The third ship that came under attack, AOM Sophie II, is a bulk carrier registered in Panama that flies the Panamanian flag.

Even when transiting Bab el Mandeb, a straight that connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, Article 19 of UNCLOS allows foreign ships, including military vessels, to pass through Yemen’s territorial waters so long as that passage is “not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal state.”

“All of the incidents to date have occurred outside Yemeni territorial waters, but even if they were within territorial waters, these attacks would still constitute a violation of international law, in particular the right of innocent or transit passage and the fundamental rights of the seafarers onboard to carry out their work and to do so without fear of attack,” the spokesperson for the International Chamber of Shipping said.

The right for the U.S. ships to defend themselves and others from unprovoked attack is also recognized under international law.

According to an overview of laws governing naval operations in both peacetime and during armed conflict complied by the U.S. Naval War College: “International law, embodied in the concept of collective self-defense, provides authority for the use of proportionate force necessary for the protection of foreign flag vessels and aircraft and foreign nationals and their property from unlawful violence, including terrorist or piratical attacks, at sea.”

Per the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, issues of proportionality regarding acts of self-defense are subject to debate.

In this instance, the USS Carney only shot down the unmanned drones launched from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen. The U.S. did not launch retaliatory strikes on Yemeni soil against the Houthi forces that launched the attacks.