SIGNAL FLAGS

The three substitute pennants: Signal Flags and Meanings

The three assistants allow repetitions within a flag or number group, although only one copy of each character is present on board. They do not stand for three particular letters or numbers. Its meaning depends on the order and the character class. Anyone who understands the principle recognizes the complete flag set as a system with its own structure.

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Signal Flag Substitutes: How Repetition Works · supplied learning collection

Key facts and distinctions

Article focus: International Code of Signals
Learning distinction: Sign, message and context are separate
Number: Three assistants
First assistants: Repeats the first character of the same class
Second assistant: Repeats the second character of the same class
Third party assistants: Repeats the third character of the same class
Counting direction: From above
Character classes: Observe letter flags and pennants separately
Limit of use: The same assistant, not more than once per group
Decimal signs: Answer pennants do not count for this
Example VV: Victor and first assistant
Regatta use of the first assistant stand: General recall in the race system
First assistant: Picture: Yellow inner triangle in blue
Second assistant: Picture: Blue approach and white tip
Third assistant: Picture: Black middle streak between white areas

Why the sentence contains three repetition marks

A full set of ICS contains each letter flag and pennant once. However, a group may need the same letter or digit multiple times. For this case, there is the first, second and third assistant stander. The English term substitute describes its substitute function. They expand the existing set of characters without having to carry a second or third complete alphabet for every possible repetition.

The three stands have different triangle patterns: the first shows a yellow inner triangle in blue, the second a blue approach with a white tip, the third a black middle strip between white surfaces. When learning, however, their number is only half the information: each stander refers to a position in the appropriate part of the group. The first number does not always mean A and the second does not always mean B. Neither do the standers bear the fixed digits one, two and three. These are among the separate number pennants.

Count from above and observe the character class

The first assistant repeats the uppermost sign of the same class, the second the second and the third the third. It counts from above. The connection of the same class is crucial when letters and numbers occur together: a stander after number pennants refers to the number class and not simply to any cloth on the same leash. Thus, the rule is more precise than the note set repeats the corresponding flag.

The official example L 2330 illustrates the difference. It can appear as L, number pennant 2, number pennant 3, second auxiliary stand and number pennant 0. The second assistant stands for the second digit of the group of numbers, i.e. the three. He does not repeat the letter L. The example is an explanation of code logic; no complete practical message is derived from the number alone.

Two examples and an important demarcation

For VV, the signal book shows Victor followed by the first assistant stand. At 1100, the pattern is 1, first assistant stand, 0, third assistant stand. In the second example, the zero occupies the third numerical position. No single assistant may be used more than once within the same group. An answer pennant that stands as a decimal between numbers is not counted in the position determination. These details are part of the principle of repetition.

Outside of this code, the same wipes can have a different function. In sailing regattas, for example, the first assistant stand is a sign of a general recall. This meaning comes from the Racing Rules of Sailing. It does not explain the repetition function in the ICS and should not be confused with it. The correct classification thus includes three questions: Which standard is to be seen, to which class would it refer and which set of rules applies at all?

Details Worth Remembering

The number indicates a heading

Assistants are referrals within a group. The same first stander can therefore repeat a digit in one group Victor and in another. Its own number remains the same, while the repeated sign depends on the context.

L 2330 separates two classes

The example with one letter before a number makes the class rule visible. The second assistant refers to the second digit and not to the second position of all cloths together. This difference is at the heart of a more challenging question of understanding.

Repeats and recalls are different

A first assistant stand can also be recognized as an image in a regatta. There, it denotes a general recall. The figure is reused, but the interpretation comes from the respective set of rules, not from a universal meaning of the cloth.