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Columbia Yacht Club (U.S.)

New York

image by Rob Raeside, 1 July 2019

Description of the flag

See also:

Description of the flag

Estb: 1867. Location: West 86th. Street, New York.
Burgee: Pennant circa 4:7 (print image). Red field charged with a blue star on a white equilateral triangle (sides 2 units) based on hoist and a white star on fly.
Source: Lloyd’s Register of American Yachts. New York, 1903
Peter Edwards, 30 June 2019

The American Yacht List for 1891 shows for the Columbia a broad pennant, with the white field reaching to the split, and the rest of the field red. The blue star is upright, and each of the red fields has a white upright star. A flag is shown for the Commodore, being the same broad pennant, but rather than a blue star it shows a 13-star circle around a fouled anchor leaning towards the top hoist, all blue. Likewise a flag for the Vice-Commodore is shown with the charge of the white field being a fouled anchor leaning towards the top hoist, blue. (The anchor is larger than for the Commodore, so it does fill most of the field.) The station is given as: 86th Street, North River, New York.

The American Yacht List for 1895 shows for the Columbia the same broad pennant, but it now shows three officers flags. The previous Vice-Commodore flag has become the Read Commodore flag, while the Vice-Commodore flag is now equal to the Commodore flag, but with the circle of stars in red.

Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping, Yacht Register, 1881-1902, all show that same design for the club flag.

In 1903, Lloyd's Register of American Yachts shows a burgee instead, as shown above. I think the blue star is intended to be upright, though, as before, while the now single white star points towards the fly. This is also how it's displayed in 1905.

In 1906, the design changes slightly, in that it's depict with a slightly more shallow triangle, with it's star a bit smaller, with both stars now of the same size and both upright. I would expect the white and red fields are now of equal size, and the design now gives an impression of balance.

A similar design is still shown in 1938, but it has disappeared by 1949. It would appear that the club did not survive WWII.

Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 2 July 2019

Old Yacht Clubs of the UWS (https://ilovetheupperwestside.com/old-yacht-clubs-of-the-uws) suggests that the club didn't die from fire from the enemy in WWII. Rather, they died from native unfriendly fire in 1934.

A two-tailed flag, by Wenderover Art: https://www.wendoverart.com/wcl1531 shows a different flag as Columbia Yacht Club.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 31 August 2022