Courtesy Flags

A

AOWYN

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28 Dec 2002
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263
www.clinksystems.com
Any ideas of where or how to fly a courtesy flag on a Romilly 22 yawl. It has no standing rigging and has a tall lug rig, so no cross-trees and nowhere obvious.

I will be needing to fly one so am interested in any sensible ideas.

Cheers,
 
I thought the etiquette was that it mustn't be worn below any other flag on the same halyard - you can fly other flags above it, just tie them to a different rope.
 
fraid t'aint that simple.The courtesy flag must be flown in the most superior position after the vessel's national ensign.
Superior starts at Masthead and runs from starboard to port and from forward to aft excepting the taffrail ensign staff or mizzen truck on a gaff rigged vessel.
Some countries (unlike the UK) can be very sensitive about the need to get this right.
 
I'm sure I've seen flag halyards flown from the top of the gaff (lug yard?) with the flag halyards tied off at the end of the boom - or clew fitting if loose footed. You could possibly use the boom toping lift if you have one.

Alternatively run a light line from the starboard gunwhale to the top of the mast as a flag hoist. As stated, courtesy flag goes on top.
 
Sorry to be so stupid, but the problem is that the Red Ensign will fly from the leech of the mizzen, as there is no space for an ensign staff on the transom of a small yawl. Then the problem is that there is no feasible way to run a halliard up the free-standing mast which has a near verticle gaff spar hauled up it and there are no crosstrees.. The question seems to boil down to the possibility of flying the foreign country courtesy ensign from the leech of the mainsail while flying the Red Ensign from the leech of the mizzen. So the US flag will be 40 ft up at the top of the main while the Red Duster will be 10 feet up on the leach of the mizzen.

The boat is too beautiful to screw up with bad etiquette, and anyway I wouldn't want to offend the US Coastguards.

Cheers,
 
Not at all as long as you have one mast, or a main and a mizzen. Your burgee is the descendant of the house flag which was normally flown at the top of the main mast.

So many boats nowadays cannot fly flags at the mast head and problems come when the burgee is normally flown at the starboard spreader in home waters. Then when in foreign waters it should be flown on the starboard spreader, below the courtesy flag.
 
I too have an unstayed rig with no crosstrees. I fly courtesy flags from a halliard attached about 2 3rds of the way up on the starboard side. I have had no complaints so far.
 
If it's only for the yanks then you could probably get away with towing it behind you on a long bit of string.

The last American boat I saw in british waters was not only flying the union jack as a courtesy flag. But he was flying it upside down as well. I had half a mind to ask him if he needed any help.
 
Well my mid-channel ritual is to take the burgees down from the starboard spreader and replace them with the curtesy flag then re-hoist the burgees to the port spreader. Reversed on the way home.
 
Thank you for your comment, but it is precisely to stem the tide of such childish attitudes about national stereotypes that I would like to be seen to be behaving properly when I am a guest in another country.

I felt that I could rely on the superb body of knowledge accessible via the Scuttlebutt site to come up with some sensible suggestions. Luckily I was right, even if your response did not quite fit the bill.
 
Seeing as you're having a dig - so will I. (a) it's not the Union Jack, it's the Union Flag and (b) flying it upside down is not a distress signal: that is flying an ensign upside down.

So let's have a little less of the sarcastic comments about ignorant foreigners shall we?
 
Here! Here! and the Union Flag is not the maritime courtesy flag of the UK - The good old red duster is - which, of course would be a distress signal when flown upside down. Damn and Blarst!! I knew we shouldn't have let these upstarts own boats., Much less go to sea in them /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Here! Here! and the Union Flag is not the maritime courtesy flag of the UK - The good old red duster is - which, of course would be a distress signal when flown upside down.

[/ QUOTE ]

But not recognised as such internationally. Try flying a French ensign upside down and see how much attention you attract.
 
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