Jimmy Green Guidance on Flag Etiquette
Courtesy Flag Etiquette
As a gesture of courtesy, yachts should fly a foreign nation's flag when they enter and operate in its waters.
There are no universal rules governing courtesy flag etiquette.
Officials interpret the rules differently from country to country, region to region, island to island or even port to port.
Failing to fly a courtesy flag or flying a courtesy flag improperly may only be considered impolite in some places but in others where it is enforced by local law, officials go as far as impounding passports or imposing fines until the proper flag (which may only be available to purchase locally at great expense) is flying on board.
Flying an undersized, faded or tatty courtesy flag may be considered worse than having no courtesy flag at all in some places.
If you are in any doubt, the best thing to do is observe other yachts from your country and even ask them for guidance.
You should not fly a courtesy flag until your vessel is properly cleared by customs and immigration.
Until clearance is complete, you should fly the yellow Q (quarantine) flag.
On a yacht without any mast, the courtesy flag (or Q) should be flown at the bow.
On a mast with spreaders, the courtesy flag (or Q) should be flown at the starboard spreader.
The burgee should take the next most senior position on a yacht which is at the main masthead.
Only one burgee should be flown on a yacht.
Burgees are now commonly flown at the starboard spreaders. However, no other flag should be flown above the burgee on the same halyard.
You should not fly a burgee above a national courtesy flag on the same halyard.
Therefore if you choose to fly your burgee at the starboard spreader you will have a dilemma in ‘foreign waters'.
This could be obviated by reeving a second flag halyard to the starboard spreader but is not strictly following flag etiquette.
It may be considered polite or even proper to fly a regional or island courtesy flag e.g. in the Channel Isles there are individual courtesy flags for each island.
There is nothing wrong with endearing yourself to the local sailors, fishermen and officials. It's also entering into the spirit of the 'courtesy' tradition
If the region or island flag is in ‘foreign waters' then it should be flown below the National Courtesy flag e.g. Brittany under France.
There may be some local exceptions to this rule e.g. Display Azores flag over Portugal flag, Canariy Isles over Spain, Madeira over Portugal, Galapagos over Ecuador.
We advise you to seek local advice.
If the yacht has more than one mast, the courtesy flag should be flown from the starboard spreader of the forward mast.
N.B. Only ever your own ensign or national flag should be flown from the stern of a yacht.
The Netherlands Antilles Courtesy Flag may cover St. Maarten, Statia (St. Eustatius), Saba, and Bonaire.
The French Courtesy Flag may cover St. Martin, St. Barts, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Society Islands, French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Nouméa.
The Chile Courtesy Flag may cover Easter Island.
We advise you to seek local advice.
Sizing Flags (the fly is the horizontal measurement, the hoist is the vertical measurement)
Generally, yachts up to about 50 feet in length look properly "dressed" with half yard (18" x 12") courtesy flags.
There is an old rule of thumb for courtesy flags: a half inch on the fly for every foot of overall vessel length e.g. 18 inches = ½ yard for a 36 foot yacht
Generally the size of your Ensign (or national Flag) should be proportionate to the size of yacht. Again there is an old rule of thumb: an inch per foot of yacht length but this may look a little on the small side for modern yachts to look "well dressed".
The more modern interpretation would be : 20-30 feet length overall - ¾ yard, 25-35 feet - 1 yard, 30-40 feet - 11/4 yard, 35-45 feet - 11/2 yard and 40-60 feet - 2 yard, but it is entirely up to the owner's discretion - if it looks right then it is right.
Similarly the length of the flagstaff should be reasonably proportional to the size of ensign e.g. ½ yard on 60cm, ¾ yard on 60/80cm, 1 yard on 80/100cm, 1¼ yard on 90/100cm, 1½ yard on 100/125cm, 2 yard on 125/150cm
Printed or Sewn ?
Printed courtesy flags are generally acceptable everywhere you may visit. Sewn courtesy flags may well prove to be far too expensive on an extended voyage. Printed courtesy flags are lighter and therefore fly better in a light breeze
However there are two distinct schools of thought regarding your Red Ensign (or national flag) and either is acceptable.
1. Printed - is less than half the cost and ‘will soon be blown out anyway'
2. Sewn - is the only proper flag to fly and will last a bit longer.
Land flags
The Union flag, the Welsh Dragon and the Crosses of St Andrew, St George and St Patrick are primarily land flags and should not be flown at sea by cruising yachtsmen.
At sea the cross of St George is the flag of an Admiral and should therefore not be flown by anyone else, without special dispensation.
The St Andrew flag could be mistaken for the code flag M signalling "my vessel is stopped and making no way through the water"
The St Patrick flag could be mistaken for the code flag V signalling "I require assistance".
Dressing Ship
On special occasions, yachts often "dress overall," displaying a decorative collection of International Signal Code flags.
Convention suggests that you bend on flags and pennants alternately. There are twice as many letters as numeral pennants, so a possible sequence would be: Two flags, one pennant, two flags, one pennant, and so on e.g. from stem to stern
AB2, UJ1, KE3, GH6, IV5, FL4, DM7, PO Third Substitute, RN First Substitute, ST Zero, CX9, WQ8, ZY Second Substitute.
Or
E, Q, 3, G, 8, Z, 4, W, 6, P, 1, I, Answer Pennant, T, Y ,B, X, 1st Substitute, H, 3rd Substitute, D, F, 2nd Substitute, U, A, O, M, R, 2, J, 0, N, 9, K, 7, V, 5, L, C, S.
To select the size of your signal code flag set for dressing overall, add the individual hoist measurement to the average gap between the flags e.g. 12" x 8" would be an 8 inch hoist + say a 4 inch gap = 12 inches and multiply by 40 = 40 feet length overall. ½ yard would be 12 inch hoist + say a 6 inch gap = 18 inches and multiply by 40 = 60 feet length overall.
The length overall is primarily determined by the gap in between the flags and is therefore limited by the length of cord sewn into the fly known as the distance line.
Some Signal Code Flag Sets have flags made with a loop at the top and a distance line with a toggle at the bottom. While this requires no knots, the disadvantage is that the overall length is predetermined and may not suit the dimensions of your yacht and rig.
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