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Real Club Marítimo del Abra-Real Sporting Club (Spain)

Both burgees flown together, see text
both images by José Carlos Alegría

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Description

I just got the first number of a very nice magazine published by the most important yacht club of Vizcaya (Basque country), the Real Club Marítimo del Abra-Real Sporting Club. This club, located at Guecho, on the outskirts of Bilbao, is the result of the merge, produced in 1972, of the Real Sporting Club, founded in 1898, and the Real Club Marítimo del Abra, founded in 1902. It is curious that each one had his own flag, and the resulting club uses both! They always fly both burgees at the Club, and they use an image of the flags crossed at the mast as their emblem [see below]. Real Club Marítimo del Abra's burgee is the register flag of Bilbao, reversing the colours, with a red 5 point star on the canton, and the royal spanish crown on the center. Real Sporting Club's burgee is the register flag of Bilbao, with a purple cross of St. George and the Spanish royal crown at the center of the cross.

José Carlos Alegría, 22 November 1999

image by José Carlos Alegría

John S. Ayer asked, "If the club flies two burgees, what do the individual members fly on their boats?" That's a good question! As they are close enough to my town, we see some boats here, specially motorboats on the tuna fish fishing period, and most of them fly the R.C.M. del Abra flag, having the emblem painted on the stern. In sailboats, they fly both from a halyard, having the flag of the R.C.M. del Abra on top and the Real Sporting Club underneath. Being the newest of the two Clubs, I guess they receive preponderance due to a larger amount of members at merging time. The situation is, anyway, not good, and I myself have designed some proposals for them to get a "new" flag.

José Carlos Alegría, 24 November 1999