Flags! Flags! Flags!

When Kent and I moved onto our boat in Martinique, we were moored near the main channel in the harbor. This location was busy with boat traffic but it was fascinating to watch the different boats of all sizes go by and see the boats' flags.

There are several different kinds of flags on boats: national flags, courtesy flags, shipbuilder flags, club flags, guest flags, brag flags, and Gran Pavese flags. It may come as a surprise that there are several rules about the correct use of these flags on boats. There are even different rules for sailboats versus motor boats. Here's more than you'll ever want to know about flag rules for sailboats...

The national flag (of the country where the boat is registered/documented) should be the largest of all others that are hoisted and always in excellent condition. During navigation and when in a foreign country, the flag must always be flying. On sailboats, the national flag is typically flown abaft and starboard. However, on a sloop, it must be up to 2/3 height in the patters-rope; on a ketch or a yawl, it must be ahead of the mizzenmast; and on a schooner, the flag must be ahead of the mainmast.

We currently fly a French flag as our national flag because our boat
was registered in France when we bought it. Until we have completed
the re-registration process and are documented in the US, we have
 to display the French flag as our national flag.

The national flag of the host country must be exposed when entering its territorial waters. On a sailboat, this flag, called a courtesy flag, is flown on the starboard crosstree on the mainmast. However, when waiting to process your customs clearances and other formalities, it is necessary to expose temporarily a plain yellow flag. Once cleared, the host country's national flag replaces the yellow flag.

Here is our yellow courtesy flag, flown while clearing Customs.  Per the
 International Signal Code, a yellow flag is the "Q" signal for "quarantine." Interestingly,
this yellow signal sign was historically used to signal "contagion" or "quarantine"
on a ship, but in modern use indicates the opposite, as a ship free of disease
that requests boarding and inspection (i.e., waiting to clear Customs).

Here's our collection of courtesy flags for all the countries we have visited
 or will visit on our sailing journey north from Martinique. As the official
 Flag Manager (LOL) on board, I  wrote the names of the country
 on each flag for quick identification and try to keep them folded
 in alphabetical order (I can't help myself!).

Until our boat's re-registration is completed in the US, we fly the
US flag as a courtesy flag here in St Thomas, which is a US territory.
When we leave here in early May, we will fly a Puerto Rico flag on our mast
 and after that, a Dominican Republic flag.   

On a sailboat, the shipbuilder flag must be flown at the crosstree at the left of the mainmast. They're not very prevalent and are usually seen on racing boats, for example. We don't fly our shipbuilder's flag--couldn't even find a picture of one online!

The club flag is the flag of the shipbuilder's club. This might be the flag for an "owners club," for instance. We don't fly a shipbuilder's club flag, but the Nautitech club flag likely looks like this:

Hoisting the national flag of guests on board is a nice gesture and very appreciated. Whether there are one or several guest flags, they must all be at the crosstree at the left of the mainmast on sailboats. It might be kind of fun to fly these flags for your international guests! We have a flag chart that we use to identify the countries other boats hail from, then we make a mark on the flag to indicate we've seen a boat from that particular country. It's kind of like the license plate game you played as a child on a family car trip.

Our Flag Chart - you can't see our marks but we've spotted lots of countries' flags!

It is traditional to fly brag flags on the sailboat's jib halyard but we've seen these flags flown all over boats. Brag flags are the pennants distributed to winners after races. It's always fun to display all your brag flags, showing what races you participated in and how you placed. Nothing wrong with a little bragging!

You should always have a set of Gran Pavese flags on board your vessel. The Gran Pavese is a set of 40 international code flags, including 26 alphabetic flags, ten numerical, three repeaters, and an intelligence one. The flags are to be exposed from aft to prow crossing the highest points of the boat and never in navigation. The occasions to hoist the Gran Pavese are at the launch of one's own boat and during national holidays, including those of the host country you are visiting.
 

I told you that you'd more than you ever wanted to know about flags on boats!