Phuket - An initiative started by the San Francisco Yacht Club “Charlie Golf One” has been welcomed by the Phuket Yacht Club. The maritime code flags C over G over 1 represent the signal for “We will not abandon you.” The raising of the C1 signal on the PYC flagpole demonstrates the Club’s bond with fellow sailors around the world during these difficult times of the pandemic.

SFYC Staff Commodore Jim Robinson derived this concept from the 1926 story of the US liner steamship PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT, which heroically stood by the British steamship Antinoe during an Atlantic gale on January 20, 1926. According to the story, as recorded by the San Francisco Marine Exchange, the passenger ship President Roosevelt was bound for the English Channel when she answered a call to rescue the Antinoe in a torrential storm. Specifically, “one of the worst storms ever to be recorded on the North Atlantic, as far as violence and duration were concerned.”

Upon arrival, the situation appeared helpless. The President Roosevelt stood by the President Roosevelt for
85 hours and 40 minutes and launched several rescue attempts, losing two of her own lives along the way.
Eventually, every single life aboard the Antinoe was saved. On the Antinoe, “Their only hope and comfort during
those long hours were the two little signal flags, ‘A over I’, whipping in the gale from the President Roosevelt’s
yardarm.”

Although the international signal flag code has changed since 1926, the message is still the same, “We will not
abandon you”. The Phuket Yacht Club joined as the initial club in Asia, adding a sixth continent to the growing
network of yacht clubs around the world that are participating. “We salute our new friends at the SFYC with this
universal message of fellowship, friendship and support during these difficult times of the Covid 19 pandemic,”
said club member Matt McGrath. “It is a positive initiative that brings people together without regard to
geo-political boundaries. The Phuket Yscht Club welcomes all and is open to the public at large.”