Caribbean courtesy flags

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Anyone got any to lend / sell?

Don't want to buy dozens in case we never make it / wimp out etc. . . . at the moment thinking of advance purchase of Cape Verdes, Barbados and Trinidad/Tobago, but I understand it can be expensive if you fetch up elsewhere (e.g. St Lucia) without the correct courtesy flag.

Failing that, does anyone know of an easy way to paint your own?

All ideas welcome.
 
Buy one of those JML battery-powered sewing machines for twenty quid. Take some old rags. Hours of fun making your own. I can lend you a 1960s Philips School Atlas so you can get all the flags correct.

Alistair
 
Yep have to agree with Alistair, we just had plain white cloth, hand stitched hem, and painted with water based acrylics..hours of fun to keep you busy on those long night watches on the way across.

The Spanish one got half shredded in 50 knots but is still usable, I now have them rolled up in th edrawer for the next trip, The Parrot was tricky on the Dominican one.

I guess you could now just print them on paper and laminate them as a really easy cheap option....all the flags are on the web somewhere. Or how about those transfers for putting photos on T shirts..that would work, and you could do it at work whilst planning the trip?
http://www.lakaymagazine.com/img/caribbean_flags.gif
 
Sorry, keeping all mine (though I have a spare Antigua).

Jimmy green stocks them so you could pick up a set at your next boat jumble. You can save money by only getting national flags e.g. portugal for madeira/ cape verdes, France for Martinique, Guadeloupe etc..

There was a lady hawking local courtesy flags around Rodney Bay marina when we were there.
 
The straightfoward flags can easily be sewn together from rags, but the coats of arms or other fiddly bits are more difficult. However, why not use an ink jet printer and a Tshirt programme. You can get the waterprotected ones that are then sewn or ironed on (to both sides) . Has to be cheaper than actually buying them.

gif of all the flags are available from here
 
[ QUOTE ]
You can save money by only getting national flags e.g. portugal for madeira/ cape verdes....

[/ QUOTE ]Crap Verde is independent of Portugal so you cannot use a Portuguese courtesy flag there.

Crap Merde is one place that you should DEFINITELY prepurchase because they charge the earth for them locally. IIRC, they cost in the order of EURO 125.00 in Crap Merde.
 
Most places in the Caribbean you'll see a few yachts without courtesy ensigns, so I guess you don't actually get caned for not having one, tho' it is desirable. Only once (Barbados) did a customs officer complain ours wasn't quite the right colour.

Sorry, we need ours, but most are pretty easy to make. The correct designs are shown in Jimmy Cornell's World Cruising guide or you can get a book of national flags - I don't think anyone gets worried if you fly the national flag rather than the nautical flag, which differ in a few ex-British colonies. However flying the past colonial flag, or the old regime flag (Cape Verdes) would be a major bo-bo.

We went to our local sailmaker and begged a range of scraps of coloured spinnaker nylon. You can omit the finer details, but a few are real swines to make such as Dominica and USA, and those maybe are best bought. Courtesy ensigns seem to be quite expensive and I've not found them cheaper elsewhere than in Britain.
 
I managed to find a very dust covered Bahamian flag at Aladin's Cave, Bursledon Priced at £1.50. Must have been very old stock.
Worth having a poke about in the swindleries.

Otherwise Island Water World or Budget Marine; in the WI they are a good source. Don't forget your Frog one as you'll need it too.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Failing that, does anyone know of an easy way to paint your own?

All ideas welcome.

[/ QUOTE ]

Go to a site showing national flag of country you propose to visit. eg http://www.theodora.com/flags/

Copy flag on to your computer, using printer resize it to the size you require (not bigger than 8" x 4") print two in colour, cut to edges. Stick back to back, cover with that clear self adhesive sheet (try WH Smiths etc). Make a hole at top and bottom.
You now have a flag that should last for your visit at a fraction of the cost.

PS With the money you save you can now affrd to buy me a drink /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
My wife paints ours with Dylon (iron to set, we use the kettle on board)

You don't have to be too 'correct' as no one can see the detail when they are flying at the crosstrees. Used them from Antigua to Grenada and haven't had a complaint yet. They are painted on bits of an old sheet.
Bought a tea towel from a store in St Johns for Dominica costing about 70 pence and trimmed to correct size. Keep it cheap and money out of chandlers tills!

Keeps her busy between the islands making the next one. If it isn't finished we just go to another island.Who needs plans.

PS Use Connell's World Cruising Handbook for pictures of the flags
 
You can buy tattoo paper from PC world. Simply make a tattoo of the flag you need and tattoo it onto a piece of cloth.

With a bit of luck, you should be able to wash the cloth and reuse it for the next island.

You could also make up some other tattoos like 'I heart Cape Verde', and put them on your arm. It will make the customs a little easier.
 
Tee hee!

Good time to resurrect this thread with Webthang battling his way into Porto Santo, whoever you are. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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