The simplest idea for an IOM burgee

The majority of us sail on water where the wind is extremely variable and it is not always easy to assess where the wind is coming from. Tell tales help but not always. There are times when a burgee can be invaluable especially if conditions are very light and fluky. I have experimented with bits of silver hanging off the backstay but these always seem to get wrapped around the mast.

I have tried the Roger Stollery burgee but find these a bit bulky at the top of the mast and hard to see at a distance so I came up with the item below.

I use carbon RC control rods (which you can easily buy on line) for the linkage between the rudder and servo. I had an old short piece lying around and tried adding a bit of silver foil cut from one of those thermal blankets you see handed out sometimes at the end of marathons. Superglue sticks them together.

I tape this on the top of the mast and the elevation of the rod ensures that the silver foil is always clear of the mast. Its a great solution, low windage and extremely light and the silver foil flapping in the wind, is extremly visible at a distance. Of course when the wind is up I leave it off the mast.

A simple but very effective burgee