The Art of Flying the Jolly Roger!
Published: Thursday, March 29, 2018
By: Bob Bitchin, The Cruising Outpost
On a cruising bulletin board someone posted the question, “Is there any issues with flying the Jolly Roger? A scruffy guy in a rowboat told me that the Coast Guard would board my vessel if I fly the ol’ skull and crossbones.”
This posting was followed by about a dozen posts of boaters discussing what the legalities are surrounding the Jolly Roger.
Okay, come on now. Anyone besides me see the humor in this? Asking permission to fly the Jolly Roger? That would be like a guy asking his mom if it’s okay to get a tattoo, or a young woman asking dad if it’s okay to bonk her boyfriend.
Flying the Jolly Roger makes me smile when I look up on the mast and see it there. It’s a form of rebellion (albeit, a very small one) and I do it to feel good. If I had to ask permission, it would be more of an embarrassment.
Any idea where I buy my pirate flags? Would you believe at the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride at Disney World?
>>>Yup! I stand in line behind a bunch of six-year-olds to buy the best damn pirate flag I can find.
Now, tell me, would the man who wouldn’t let Annette Funicello bare her bellybutton in the beach movies sell something that was less than all-American?
>>>I think not!
With the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, I am sure that some enterprising fast food store will be giving out pirate flags as premiums with every burger. It’s the way of the world.
Come to think of it, I imagine flying a Jolly Roger could take on a whole new meaning. It could even turn into a sign of conformity.
I can see it now... cars packed on the freeway, all flying the Jolly Roger from their little plastic window-mounted flag poles. There won’t be a boat out there without a pirate flag.
Remember when wearing your hair long was a sign of rebellion? The next time you’re at a public function, look around. Only the most conservative now wear long hair. The rebels are shaving their heads. What’s up with that? My head’s way too ugly to shave. I just wear it bald under my hair.
Sailing is my way of getting into a world where I don’t have to be a rebel to do things my way. “Out there,” not to sound too corny or anything, “I am the captain of my own destiny.” I know that I have to be responsible for my own actions. Because of that, when I am cruising I feel a freedom that very few of the land-bound will ever know. I make decisions based on what I feel is right, and if I have made the wrong decision, I know I have to accept the consequences.
No one tells me when I should or shouldn’t have a cold beer when I am cruising. I know when I should, and I know when I shouldn’t. It doesn’t take a genius to know what’s right and wrong.
But what happens is, land-bound people are so used to being told what they should or shouldn’t do, they actually get to a point where they just can’t make the decision for themselves.
That’s why we have to get out there in our boats. Being responsible for your own actions means knowing WHY you don’t leave a harbor without a radio. Knowing WHY you don’t drink when you are responsible for other people’s lives. We don’t have to be told. We just know.
And we just know when to fly the Jolly Roger. Aaaagh! It’s getting too hard to be a rebel anymore!
This article first appeared in the Spring Issue (Mar/Apr) 2018 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine.
