Hoisting Flags

[Bash]

Originally Posted by cwyckham

I can`t say I`ve ever seen a Q flag in these waters, and people cross the boarder around here quite a bit. I don`t bother with it if I`m just cutting the corner in Haro Straight. I do see the occasional courtesy flag, though.

That's the truth! I flew the Q last time I cleared into the Victoria, and they assumed I was from a different planet. (And then cleared me via telephone.)

[wolfaroo]

Originally Posted by nigel1

Proper flag etiquette is to have the courtesy ensign on the stbd side, and signal flag on the port side.

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I always fly my courtesy flag on entering territorial waters of teh country.

Originally Posted by Bash

the Q flag goes up the moment I enter foreign waters, and it stays up until I've cleared in.

Originally Posted by boatman61

In Europe I fly the courtesy flag on entering another country's waters... we don't use Q flags in the EU...
But Overseas (non EU) I'll hoist the Courtesy with the Q under... no complaints at anytime over the years..

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

In the last decade we have repeatedly cleared into Australia, New Caledonia and VAnuatu. EAch of these countries REQUIRES a visiting yacht to fly the Q flag prior to clearing in. Vanuatu has no patrol activities, but in both Oz and New Cal there are penalties for being found in territorial waters, uncleared and without the Q flag flying. They both take this seriously. I've gotten varied response to the question of whether the courtesy flag should be flown prior to clearance. I thus believe that there is no official worry about this in these countries.
Cheers,

OP, in case you are stuck in the contradictions within this thread, all of the above are in line with international established protocols.

Courtesy flags are based on good manners and polite etiquette and, whilst not obligatory, not hoisting one will cause offense in many parts of the world.

Code flags, however, are covered by international law - not flying a Quebec flag when arriving in territorial waters could potentially have very serious implications.

The most respectful practise for courtesy flag is clearly to check local preferences prior to arrival, although this is often not practical when cruising; in the absense of alternative instructions, you will always be best served by hoisting at the same time as your Quebec code flag as this is usual practise.

Cheers,

The Flag Police

[cwyckham]

I've been doing some googling, and most seem to agree (including Chapman's) that the courtesy flag only goes up after clearing.

Interesting point: Apparently some commonwealth countries use the red ensign for courtesy flags, including Australia and New Zealand (and the "red duster" for Great Britain). Can I just get away with an EU flag in the Med, I wonder? It would save on flag costs!

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by cwyckham

I've been doing some googling, and most seem to agree (including Chapman's) that the courtesy flag only goes up after clearing.

Interesting point: Apparently some commonwealth countries use the red ensign for courtesy flags, including Australia and New Zealand (and the "red duster" for Great Britain). Can I just get away with an EU flag in the Med, I wonder? It would save on flag costs!

They won't bust you for trying mate.... just mark you down as another stoopid foriegner..

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by boatman61

They won't bust you for trying mate.... just mark you down as another stoopid foriegner..

Damn. It is the red duster in the UK, though?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by cwyckham

Damn. It is the red duster in the UK, though?

red-duster.co.uk Homepage for the red duster merchant navy maritime information archive

[HopCar]

Glad you're coming to visit. Thanks for your concern over the courtsey flag. You will be most welcome in the US.

[Knowazark]

NZ registered vessels may fly either a standard national flag (blue field with union jack in the top left and 4 red stars with white outlines) or the red ensign (same as standard flag except a red field instead of a blue field). I believe the correct NZ courtesy flag is a smaller version of the standard flag (blue field). Should imagine that Aussie is the same. Presume that the correct courtesy flag for the UK is the union jack.

[cwyckham]

Thank you boatman for your advice. I checked the flags and they do have a reinforced luff, allowing me to free-fly them from the grommets. Saved a couple bucks.

And the hotdogs at Friday Harbor were delicious.

I decided to go with Q alone until checking in, then courtesy until back across the border, then back to Q until checked back in at Sidney. I know I'm a bit of a geek for even owning a Q flag in these parts, but I just like that sort of thing! (Did fly the Q all the way to my slip after the phone call check-in, though, as I didn't want my first solo docking attempt to be in the total dark. Only get half points for nautical correctness)

Thanks, all!

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by cwyckham

I decided to go with Q alone until checking in, then courtesy until back across the border,

Ummm something went a bit odd here... If you have a courtesy flag you should fly it above your Q flag on entering the new country.

The courtesy flag should not be the ensign of that country but their standard flag. Ensigns are for registered vessels of that country.





mark

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Ummm something went a bit odd here... If you have a courtesy flag you should fly it above your Q flag on entering the new country.

The courtesy flag should not be the ensign of that country but their standard flag. Ensigns are for registered vessels of that country.





mark

Oh what??? Just as I was starting to think I know it all you go and spoil it for me.

Since when has there been a difference between a flag and an ensign???

[Bash]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

Since when has there been a difference between a flag and an ensign???

In some ways it's a similar to not calling a line a rope. It's how we distinguish the newbs from seasoned hands.

The national flag you fly from the stern is properly called an ensign, regardless of whether it's the standard flag or a designated ensign. Some countries have designated yacht ensigns and/or nautical ensigns. In the USA, for example, the yacht ensign has the same stripes as the American flag, but the field contains a fouled anchor encircled by 13 stars. This yacht ensign, by the way, is only appropriately flown in US waters by documented yachts, and should be replaced by the standard Stars and Stripes in international waters.

Whether you're flying the standard flag or a designated ensign, you refer to it as the ensign when it's flown from the stern of your boat. But you would never refer to the courtesy flag as a "courtesy ensign," because it serves a different function than an ensign. It's just another flag. And, as Markj points out, it would not be proper to use a designated ensign of another nation as your courtesy flag.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

Oh what??? Just as I was starting to think I know it all you go and spoil it for me.

Since when has there been a difference between a flag and an ensign???

Our flag is the Union Jack... our ensign is the 'Red Duster' as folks call it...
Its illeagal to fly the Union Jack of the stern..
Courtesy flags for other nations are the national flag same as for others the 'Jack' is flown when entering UK waters...

[MarkJ]

The Aussie flag is blue but the ensign is red



The SApanish ensign has the thingo in the middle, their flag does not

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by Bash

In some ways it's a similar to not calling a line a rope. It's how we distinguish the newbs from seasoned hands.

Aha, so if I start calling our Kuwait flag an ensign, I instantly graduate to the seasoned sailor club? Yippee!!

Originally Posted by boatman61

Our flag is the Union Jack... our ensign is the 'Red Duster' as folks call it...
Its illeagal to fly the Union Jack of the stern..
Courtesy flags for other nations are the national flag same as for others the 'Jack' is flown when entering UK waters...

Don't make me search, post a picture of a red duster!

And MarkJ, thanks