Courtesy flags

[davidhand]

When entering UK waters from the US should one raise the Red Ensign as a courtesy flag right away or fly a yellow flag until customs have been cleared, then fly a Red Ensign. Or should I play it safe and fly both, if so which one goes above the other?

 

[Guest]

We always understood you flew the quarantine flag until cleared but I don't have an official guideline.

tech@yandina.com

 

[Guest]

The wearing of courtesy ensigns is not compulsory whereas the Q flag is before clearance. If you do decide to fly both I think you will find that the Red Ensign should be "senior" (i.e. above) to the signal flag if you are to use the same halyard for both.

Practically speaking it will be easier to remove the Q flag once cleared if it is beneath.

If you ever intend to visit Cornwall please remember that the Red is senior to the Cross of St Piran!

 

[Guest]

Whenever entering the waters of a foreign country the courtesy ensign should be flown , preferably from the starboard yard. The yellow flag is something completely separate and should also be flown until cleared by customs.

Cheers
Howard

 

[Guest]

Er........ actually you shouldn't fly the red ensign at all unless you are a British Registered ship.

The correct flags to fly are:

o - The Stars and Stripes from the stern (if you wish to be patriotic).

o - The Union Jack from the starboard cross-tree (if you wish to be friendly).

o - The "Q" quarantine flag from the port cross-tree (if you wish to be legal).

If arriving in Scotland (if you wish to soook up to everyone) you might also fly a Saltire just under the Union Jack.

Welcome to the cockamamey world of flags. Undoubtedly someone will come up with a different answer and quote Admiral Benbow from 1825 to tell that I am all wrong on this.

Best regards )

Ian D

 

[Guest]

Union Flag

Sorry but the Union Flag should never be flown ( well almost nover) the correct courtesy flag is the Red Ensign,
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by philipwhiston on Thu Jun 14 21:39:34 2001 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[peterb]

If they do then they'll be quite wrong. Admiral Benbow died in November 1702.

 

[Guest]

Re: Courtesy flags - Benbow

Peter

Ooops - I stand corrected - my error is unforgiveable.

The name popped into my head as Admiral Benbow is one my long-term "heroes".

I read a book about him many years ago and from the description of his life, times and death he made C.S. Forrester's fictional Hornblower look like a complete pansy.

I tried to find a copy of the book recently but had no success.

If my memory serves me correctly the book was written by a well know "face" but someone I would never have thought of as a writer on maritime history. (e.g. Willie Rushton?)

Any guidance on this would be much appreciated.

Best regards - and head held low in shame ((

Ian D

 

[Guest]

Re: well which is it then?

Courtesy flag for non-brit boat - shd it be the red ensign or the union flag?

 

[steve_cronin]

I am amazed/saddened/enlightened.....

... that with two exceptions there isn't a clear answer to a perfectly simple question here.

Apart from your national maritime colours you should fly the Red ensign (optional) above the "Q" flag from your starboard spreader as soon as you enter British Territorial Waters. You may be approached and if conditions permit boarded by an HM Customs cutter. The officers will be in a position to grant you entry but are more likely to be looking for illegal substances/persons ans they may thererfore ask you to "Enter the UK" at a designated "Port of Entry".

When you arrive at this port you should contact HM Customs at your earliest opportunity to report your arrival and port of origin and (technically) avoid allowing anyone ashore until you have been visited by the Customs officer. Once the formalities have been completed, and your temporary Visa issued, you and your crew may go ashore. It is at this point that you may take down your "Q" flag.

Now this is where the niceties of ettiquette come into play. How, if they are fixed to the same halyard, how do you avoid the "insult" of dipping your host nation's colours (which should be flown "superior" to your own ensign) when recovering the "Q"? Difficult isn't it? About 25 years ago I was chastised by a French official - the only contact I ever had! for dipping the Tricolour in this manner.

The only answer albiet difficult to arrange on the swaying deck of a small yacht is to fly a second halyard through a loop made in the tail of the upper courtesy ensign. You can then lower the "Q" without incurring the wrath of (most) of the British nation!

If you want to get us (well the majorityof us anyway) really riled up then but one of those cute blue rags with the ring of yellow stars. It will have the same effect as flying "Old Glory2 in Central Park!

Good sailing & welcome when you arrive.

Steve Cronin

 

[Guest]

Re: I am amazed/saddened/enlightened.....

Fly whichever you want to. People probably won't cast a second glance at a red ensign courtesy flag, but if you feel like meeting new people try flying a Union flag as a courtesy flag instead. You could run a competition offer prize money for the first person who could prove that that was illegal. Don't worry, your money would be safe.

Or if you want to be courteous to, say, the Welsh or the Scots a dragon or the saltire would do equally well.

If concerned about dipping the courtesy flag below your national colours, the easiest solution is to keep it MUCH lower than the national colours - in a locker down below. It is, after all, only a COURTESY flag, and if an official or anyone else is discourteous enough to complain about the way you do or don't fly it, then politely explain to them where they can put it. Careful that you don't burn the flag in your rage, though, because that WOULD be illegal.

 

[peterb]

The maritime ensign

The rule is that it is the maritime ensign that should be flown, and hence it should be the Red Ensign, not the Union Flag.

But it does occur to me to wonder whether that still holds good for visiting warships. After all, the correct ensign for a British warship is the White; should a visiting warship show the Merchant Marine ensign as a courtesy ensign, or should it show the naval ensign? Perhaps someone who knows can give not only the correct answer, but also the reasoning behind the tradition.

 

[cynthia]

Why is it this one never fails to bring \'em out?nm

*

 

[Guest]

Re: Why is it this one never fails to bring \'em out?nm

Because when I re-read "the book" I found out I was wrong.

No change there then!!

Ian D