Flag Etiquette

“Antigua in sight! Time to pull down the French flag and put up the Q . . .” A cherished ritual on board Calypso, switching flags as we switch countries means we’re traveling around, ready to explore new places even as we swap memories of the ones we’ve just left. Flipping through our bags of flags is a sure way to get the stories flowing.

French flag down, Q flag up. Approaching Antigua!

Flags are a huge part of maritime tradition - they’re also an important and easy way to show respect and signal your status when you come to a new country. Once you know the right way to fly those flags, you can proceed with confidence!

Backstay/transom area. This is reserved for the country where your boat is registered. Ideally the flag is sized appropriately (1 inch per every foot of boat length is a good general rule) and is in good condition. Boat life is hard on flags; you may need to replace your country flag every year or so of full time cruising. Might be a good idea to carry a spare. Some people use flag staffs; others tie their flag to the backstay or the topping lift. We opt for a (maybe) obnoxiously oversized US flag because it’s the size for a house; cost on Amazon xx vs xx for the smaller marine version.

Starboard spreader/starboard side of the boat. This is reserved for the courtesy flag (a small version of the country’s flag; some countries have different versions for maritime use) of the country you are visiting, once you’ve cleared in. There shouldn’t be any other flag flown on the starboard side - unless you’re flying the yellow “Q” flag to indicate you haven’t cleared in yet.

Port spreader is reserved for other flags. Maybe you want to fly the country flags of the nationality of your crew. Maybe you’ve got a yacht club or OCC flag. Those go on the port side.

A note about the yellow flag and clearing in. The yellow flag is to be flown by itself on the starboard side (as high as it can go - hence the term starboard spreader, as the flag halyards are generally fixed to that first spot). Don’t fly the country flag with a yellow flag underneath it, nor the yellow flag with the country flag under it. The yellow flag flies alone. Once you’ve properly cleared in, remove the yellow flag and replace it with the courtesy flag of the country where you now are.

Q flag flying as we approach Sopers Hole, Tortola

We keep our flags in a big ziplock bag in the navigation locker, organized roughly by the order we expect to visit. We label the flag on the side with what country it is - this makes it easy to make sure we’ve got the right one, even though a quick glance through the anchorage should clarify that instantly. Labeling the flags also helps if you’re putting together your flag kit at home, months before you actually need them. My memory for flags isn’t as good as my ability to read the name of a country . . .

However you organize your flags, flying them correctly is an easy way to signal respect and knowledge.