the rys was founded in london in 1815 by forty two gentlemen that were interested in sea yachting ( ocean going yachting ) , and had yachts no smaller than 10 tons , but nowadays this was interpreted as a gentleman actively interested in yachting , which i was - and the lady s qualified as she was seven thousand ( ish ) tonnes , and one of the perks of membership was that the lady s would from then on fly the white ensign of the royal navy instead of the red ensign ( red duster ) which was flown by the majority of uk registered vessels , although she would have to undergo a name change ; from then on she would be known as the rys lady s. carol collected me , along with alice , robin , their associated families and a few special guests at southampton and transported me sedately over the solent to cowes , although she could have chosen a better day to hang out the washing , the lady s was dripping with bunting ( flags ) , she was dressed overall , and as we dropped anchor adjacent to the pavilion my crew were lining the decks , and i must admit that it did bring a lump to my throat , then it was time for bob the bosun to meet me at the bottom of the boarding ladder with the aquarama ( how on earth did they manage to get in on the act ? )