Jackspeak of the Royal Canadian Navy

Red Sea Rig

Dress for a formal dinner in short sleeve white shirt and dress pants with a cummerbund. Red Sea rig is a RN term but it has been adopted by most navies as a wardroom order of dress. It was traditionally used in the days before A/C and represents a relaxed form of wardroom dress. Traditionally there was no temperature hot enough to cause officers to relax their dress. But one exception was made and it was in the Red Sea which was far enough away from England and sufficiently remote that a relaxation could be afforded.

Added: 2014-11-01 Last modified: 2014-11-01