Courtesy Flags

[T J Furstenau]

Two questions -

• How prevalent is your use of courtesy flags when sailing? We're headed to the Caribbean next summer and I was looking to be prepared and get a "Q" flag, as well as flags for the islands/countries we plan to stop in. But, as the name says, they're "courtesy flags" and not TECHNICALLY required. Are there islands/countries where you've found that you were treated differently (better/worse) if you did/didn't display the flags?
• Related - technically the Turks and Caicos courtesy flag SHOULD be the red ensign, but all that I've been able to find on line are the blue ensign. For those that have stopped in Turks and Caicos - did you fly a courtesy flag, and if so, which one? I figure that the blue is better than nothing, but I also like to do things "right" if I can.

Thanks!!

T J

 

[dlochner]

Yes, you should fly a courtesy flag from the starboard spreader above any other flags.

The Q flag indicates that you have entered a country's waters and intend to visit the country. Once you have cleared Customs and Immigration, the Q flag comes down and the courtesy flag is raised. While visiting the country you are expected to have your national ensign/flag displayed. Failure to do so invites the authorities to inspect your boat and your clearance into the country. When you are a guest in a foreign country, it is best to follow custom and custom is flying a courtesy flag, not flying one would draw attention, attention you probably don't want.

So, the answer to your first question, is yes, get the courtesy flags. The No Foreign Land website has PDF files of all or almost all of the courtesy flags for the world. They can be downloaded and a screen printing shop can print the flags for less money than purchasing them individually.

 

[dLj]

Two questions -

• How prevalent is your use of courtesy flags when sailing? We're headed to the Caribbean next summer and I was looking to be prepared and get a "Q" flag, as well as flags for the islands/countries we plan to stop in. But, as the name says, they're "courtesy flags" and not TECHNICALLY required. Are there islands/countries where you've found that you were treated differently (better/worse) if you did/didn't display the flags?
• Related - technically the Turks and Caicos courtesy flag SHOULD be the red ensign, but all that I've been able to find on line are the blue ensign. For those that have stopped in Turks and Caicos - did you fly a courtesy flag, and if so, which one? I figure that the blue is better than nothing, but I also like to do things "right" if I can.

Thanks!!

T J

The Q flag is not a courtesy flag - it's a code flag. You really should use it. It is actually a requirement although many places don't care. I have been told there are some places that will be sticklers for it's use, lack of which can result in fines. As I've always been on top of using the Q flag, I have no first hand knowledge of that.

Courtesy flags are the flags of yacht clubs, sailing clubs and countries you may be visiting. There is not "requirement" that they be flown. I like to use them, but have often not had one for the country I'm in so didn't fly one. The Turks and Caicos is one such example. I was in South Caicos for awhile and did not have the courtesy flag. It didn't matter. I've never had a problem flying or not flying the countries courtesy flag. I do like to fly it, but I also like to collect those flags as I travel.

I also have the No foreign Lands .pdf (several) of all the flags. But I decided not to use it to print out the flags. Instead I bought them from locals in the countries I visited. It would definitely be less expensive printing them out, sometimes just a little less, sometimes a lot less... But as I run pretty low on the "spend money" front, I figured that was an OK expense and as I looked for locals that made them and sold them, I felt I was doing a bit of my part to support the local economies, especially in some of the less affluent regions I visited.

dj

 

[PaulK]

Two questions -

• Related - technically the Turks and Caicos courtesy flag SHOULD be the red ensign, but all that I've been able to find on line are the blue ensign. For those that have stopped in Turks and Caicos - did you fly a courtesy flag, and if so, which one? I figure that the blue is better than nothing, but I also like to do things "right" if I can.

Thanks!!

T J

Mention of the red ensign prompted me to find out more about this. Researching "red ensign" shows that it is flown on vessels registered in certain English Commonwealth countries. It would seem that a visitor would not qualify to fly a red ensign since they are by definition not registered there. It might be compared to the US yacht ensign, which is theoretically supposed to be flown by U.S.C.G. Documented vessels. Would a vessel from Turks and Caicos visiting the U.S. fly the US yacht ensign as a courtesy flag? It would look a bit "off", no?