Why don't Cruisers Fly their National Flags?

[rognvald]

I always find it interesting when some Americans tell others that they are ashamed of their country and, in this case, do not fly the American flag. Are they ashamed that the US is the greatest superpower in the world? Are they ashamed that we have more personal freedoms guaranteed under our constitution than any other country in the world? Are they ashamed that we have free enterprise capitalism where a person can pursue their material dreams without undue government regulation and interference from any social level in life? Are they ashamed that despite our declining educational standards we still have the greatest universities in the world that educates not only Americans but students from around the world? Are they ashamed that Americans have the highest home ownership per capita of any country in the world? Are they ashamed that Americans have the lowest tax rates of any country in the world? Are they ashamed that they have a constitutional right to bear arms against a repressive government? Are they ashamed that they have a right of public assembly to protest against our government? Have these people who are "ashamed" ever read our Constitution or Bill of Rights? Today, America is sadly divided between those who embrace our national identity and history and those who seek to embrace "One World Socialism." I have to laugh when I meet these people and always ask them: what country is better and why not emigrate and live your personal dream? They never have an answer. Nationalism is not a dirty word. It is simply the same love for your country that you have for your family and loved ones. What kind of child would you be if you didn't love your parents who have given you a good upbringing and foundation in which to live? Good luck and safe sailing . . . Rognvald. P.S. Did I mention we were the first country in the Western world to have elected a Black man who came from a single parent household as president? Those bad Americans . . . we're everywhere.

[Exile]

I agree but others don't, within & outside the U.S. Another great American trait is tolerance so we should let 'em. Critique & debate is usually healthy, although these days many seem to have forgotten how to do it respectfully and therefore in a productive manner. But expressing one's opinions by not flying their national ensign on their boats when required to do so seems kinda silly. In my opinion that is.

[AiniA]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sea

Ann, we fly a 3x5 US flag for our own boat, which is actually only 55’ hull length, but about 60’ LOA with davits and pulpit. We buy a good supply of them at Harbor Freight for $9 each, nylon with Stars and Stripes sewn, not printed. My problem is finding 12”x18” courtesy flags for any of the Pacific countries to fly on the starboard spreader. These are easy to get for European, Caribbean, and North and South American countries, but I have had no luck at all finding them for South Pacific countries. Nothing stipulates that a courtesy flag must be 12x18, but tiny toothpick flags are no good and I don’t want to pay for and store big 3x5 flags for every country we visit. I’ve got plenty of time to order them—I just can’t find them. Alamo Flag Company that one poster suggested doesn’t have them. The other company that someone else suggested doesn’t have them either. What do people who cruise the South Pacific do for courtesy flags?

It can be a problem, particularly for really small countries. With the exception of ones you will use a lot like France, we buy 12 x 18 stick flags that are really cheap ($2 to $3 depending on how many you buy) but they do not have all the ones you want. You either have to buy one locally or make one. Often you do not see them for sale in local stores though. We find the cheap flags last for a month or more in trade wind conditions and sun and you can buy multiple ones at the price. Also a little needle work when they start to fray really extends their lives. I find it hard to justify spending $30 for a courtesy flag.

You can use a French flag in French Polynesia or buy a local flag once you are there. We found that you can, and sometimes must, make your own flag. We bought a number of red ensigns and blue ensigns and cut and pasted various elements. In some cases you want the union jack in the corner and in some cases you want to replace the jack with a local symbol. We also took a selection of spinnaker cloth fragments from our sailmaker to use to make parts of the flag (check ahead to see what colours you need. Our Cook Islands flag was a blue ensign with 30 (15 on each side) ripstop white stars sewn on. The Fiji flag is a light blue ensign with a coat of arms on the fly. Here we left the Q-flag up when we went ashore to check. After we finished we went to a nearby market to buy a flag.

[ShellBack89]

Originally Posted by LoudMusic

I'd also like to have state flags to fly for whatever state we are in for courtesy flags, but I think that might be considered weird.

I just really like flags

https://i.imgur.com/hSNy3Zs.jpg

Not weird.......That's very cool! God Bless Texas!!

Originally Posted by Suijin

I’ve seen a few boats from Texas that fly the Texas state flag at the strb spreader no matter what state they are in. That’s so Texas lol.

LOL and ask us where we're from and rather than just say "Houston", we'll say "Houston, Texas" just so you know that we're from Texas. Not that Houston was a dead give away LOL That's why I love Texas!

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by theway

I had a US flag that came with the boat, but never flew it. It seems to be a level of pride which I don’t have.

<snip>... when I think about all the events and actions which took place in the name of the American flag I become quite saddened.

You mean like 407,300 dead so Europe doesn't speak German and Asia doesn't speak Japanese and work to death like dogs?



Or post-war preventing western Europe from being a satellite of Russia?


Or having discovered and supplied the world with preventative measures and cures for a multitude of terrible diseases?


Or the internet?


There is ugly in the history of USA. Pick a country...I'll give you the ugly. Ever read about the Vatican? Plenty of ugly.



When one concentrates on the negative, it's easy to find. I prefer to look at the positive, the benefits. In doing so, I see a lot of good in USA- as well as many other countries.



One doesn't have to bring boastful pride with the US flag, or any flag. It quickly tells a story- where I'm from. It's an invitation- come ask me about where I came from.


In this sadly popular homoligation where everyone has to be the same, and we can't talk about race or color or whatever, I find great sadness. I don't want everyone to be the same, or equal in all ways- I want to explore their unique characteristics- some of which might be because of their race or color, or might be associated with their race or color.



Finally, the US flag does not represent just a government. It represents the people. And, in my observation, all governments suck but the people are largely good, and kind.


I fly a US flag at home, and I fly a US flag on the boat. That's despite the continued criminal and despicable actions of government employees. It's my sign of hope, and my sign of welcome. I'll continue to focus on the positive, thank you.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sea

Slightly off topic: Where do you get good quality 12" x 18" courtesy flags for the Pacific countries such as French Polynesia, Tonga, and Fiji? I can find large flags (3'x5') and tiny toothpick flags, but what about good quality 12x18 flags?

Make them.

Carry a selection of colors of spinnaker fabric, or better fabric, or worse, it doesn't matter, sew your own. Some have complicated insignias, (Fiji) you can fake these with a close approximation or use marking pens, or combination.

[ShellBack89]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

I fly a US flag at home, and I fly a US flag on the boat. That's despite the continued criminal and despicable actions of government employees. It's my sign of hope, and my sign of welcome. I'll continue to focus on the positive, thank you.

Preach it brother!



I often find the people who go on about how horrible a nation we are haven't left the west or east coast. The irony is they wear shirts with faces of dictator(s) on the front to be cool not understanding that the same dictator(s) would have them killed for voicing these same negative opinions of their government. SMH #LiberalLogic

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Maka

I also have a large inventory of flags including a Jolly Roger for fun.

Uh, What is "fun" about claiming to be a Pirate? Is it the killing they do? The robbing? The raping?

Pirates have, and still do, commit horrific crimes.

How funny would you think it to be to fly an ISIS flag?

Do you know it is permitted to fire upon a pirate if they approach your vessel?

[leftbrainstuff]

We fly the Aussie flag on our stern and currently the US flag at our starboard spreader.

We keep spares and when the flags are slightly tattered we dispose of them in accordance with the Australian Government's official flag handbook.

[ShellBack89]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

The sun is hard on fabric. I got more life out of my flags (cheap courtesy and quality ensigns) by treating them with 303 UV protectant. Wet them out, hang them to dry overnight in the cabin. Re-treat monthly.

Good tip!

[Stonecutter36]

I'm waiting to see a Vatican flag flying from to stern.

[bailsout]

Right on, Austin. I like fling a flag though, so mine is all white. If I get around to it I may add a solid royal blue circle in the middle of it.

[Matt Johnson]

We, like other have mentioned, bought our courtesy flags from a place online that sells 12 x18" stick flags for use in parades. https://www.united-states-flag.com/world.html

While I've seen some good ones, the typical handmade courtesy flags sailors produce in route look rather offensive to me. I've seen where people just use permanent markers or close to right colored cloth on a plain white material to approximate the visiting countries flag. To me, a shabby courtesy flag is more offensive than not flying one at all.

Matt

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by carstenb

Question: why don't cruising boats fly their national flag? I'm guessing, but I suspect it is over 1/2 that do not show their flag.

TRADITION!

NAUTICAL TRADITION!

We are all sailors carrying on many thousands of years of nautical tradition and I respect that tradition.

We do fly our flag (not while racing). A properly sized US flag, usually from West Marine. They last about 3 years, but we take it down in really windy conditions (however we will re hoist it if a ship comes by, so as not to be seen as ignorant of tradition.) We leave it up at night, out of laziness and forgetfulness, honestly. I'm sorry.

And yes, there is the requirement by many countries to show your vessel's country of registration. At sea however, there is no requirement to do so(who has jurisdiction?) but we do it out of tradition and to inform passing vessels of who we are.

Some countries require a courtesy flag to be flown, and not a tattered one. We always have the correct courtesy flag. We also have huge ones for use on special occasions. My favorite is the blood red and gold Chinese flag, Beautiful!

In the early 2000's there was much discussion among cruisers about whether to fly the US flag when oversea. Some people thought it was prudent to keep their US identity secret, for fear of attack. I am not a right-wing nationalist, but I refused to consider that option. I am proud of my country and I will not try to hide my identity. I can tell you however, I would be scared in some places, but I would do it. And did. And we did not experience any outward expressions of ill will towards us.

There are other traditions people don't seem to care about. One trivial one but which sticks in my craw, is how people label the hailing port on their sterns for example. ( I know, the CG requires it to be a certain format, screw them). For centuries hailing ports were the names of the port a vessel hailed from, such as London, Boston, etc. Now we have boats hailing from Omaha, Dallas? Really? That's your port? And do we need to put the state on it as well? How about the zip code? It ruins it for me.

Finally, I think is it silly to fly the flags of each of your crew members, there is no tradition for that.

Originally Posted by rognvald

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Originally Posted by Tetepare

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Hey guys, there are plenty of forums where you can take your rants, but please lets leave that kind of political discussion out of this one.

[CFS Klopas]

For courtesy flags, I have to recommend flags designed to be flown from cars. I have two representing sport teams I support as house flags. They are vulnerable to UV but almost invulnerable to wind and the correct size. A couple posters said they had trouble finding flags for the South Pacific, so I checked for Vanuatu and this popped right up:

https://www.theflagshop.co.nz/index....-car-flag.html

They don't have grommets, rather a sleeve on the hoist open at either end. I run a string through the sleeve and lash either end to my shrouds. It may be wise to chop off the extraneous parts of the flagpole and leave the rest in the sleeve to ensure it flies properly.