Flags.Doc Flags and banners have flown from ships and boats for millennia. Jason's Argonaut would have had them, as did the Greek and Persian galleys at Salamis, and the Spanish Armada. By the time of Nelson and Trafalgar coded flags were also used for communications. Even today flags are displayed on virtually every ship and a large proportion of smaller vessels too. Yacht owners flying their National flag maintain such traditions, and those who sail into foreign waters are sometimes obliged to fly other flags too. Tradition There are practical traditions associated with flags, such as taking an ensign down at sunset, which saves wear and tear, and avoids unnecessary noise on a windy night. Another is that flying an ensign upside down indicate distress, although this wouldn't be much use with tri-colours such as the French, or the many other symmetric flags. Traditions vary from place to place, and can evolve over time. Yacht Club Burgees for example used to be flown from a staff hoisted to protrude above the masthead, but this is incompatible with modern masthead wind sensors and antennae, so now they are usually flown beneath the starboard spreader. However, through their use in seafaring, and diplomacy, some traditions regarding the precedence (pecking order) of flags, and their dignified treatment are truly international, and unlikely to change any time soon. Each country has laws and regulations regarding the flying and treatment of National and other State flags in public ceremonies etc., and it is in the flying of National Flags where yachtsmen should be careful not to offend against tradition through ignorance, let alone deliberately. Experts and Colonel Blimps may decry infringements, but most other traditions and customs have no force in law. Flying Flags A modern single masted Bermudian yacht typically has only three places from which flags can be flown reasonably well, and traditionally each is used for specific purposes. The Ensign is usually flown from a staff at the stern, and official signals such as the Quarantine and Diver Down flags are flown beneath the port spreaders, leaving the starboard spreaders available for burgees and any other flags. Flags are usually clipped or tied to an endless halyard - so a free end cannot escape aloft - raised as high as the system allows, and then cleated off at some convenient point. Ensigns The "National Colours" flown by a vessel to identify its country of registration is termed an Ensign. A vessel should fly only one ensign, no matter how patriotic its crew may be feeling! It's now usually flown from a staff angled out and back from the aft deck. The angle helps the flag to fly in lighter winds, and keeps the bulk of it out of the way. Flying from a backstay has the opposite effect and doesn't display the flag well when the yacht is anchored or moored head to wind. At sea, the ensign can traditionally be shifted to a cross tree or spreader for better visibility, but this should not be done by yachts in port simply because it is misleading - suggesting a visiting foreign yacht is flying a courtesy flag. Some countries - eg Japan and the UK, and various UK related countries - have special maritime versions of their National Flags, which can be confusing to an observer armed only with a book of National flags! The UK is an extreme example of this. Their National flag is of course the Union Jack, but for ensigns the Union only appears in the "canton" (top left quarter) and the field of the rest of the flag is either red, white, or blue. The Royal Navy generally uses a White ensign with a red cross superimposed, and the merchant navy uses the red ensign, but various clubs, historical offices, organisations, and even aristocratic individuals have their own flags that may be flown as ensigns, based on Red, Blue, or white British Ensigns "defaced" with approved symbols. Indeed both the New Zealand and Australian National flags are British Blue ensigns "defaced" with stars, and even citizens of these countries often confuse one for the other. Even more complicated, each country follows the UK lead in having official maritime flags, based on a British red ensigns, and a Naval flag based on the white. Not surprisingly when cruising internationally many New Zealand yachts also fly a Kiwi flag, and Australian some form of Kangaroo. Provided they are flown from the spreaders, and not from the stern as an ensign, this offends no-one, and is an excellent example of a practical as opposed to official use of flags. Private yachts in their home waters may not be obliged to fly their country's flag, but if their owners choose to, then very likely there will be relevant regulations. Signal Flags Professional seafarers are required to be familiar with signal flags, which are still used in some situations to indicate a ship's status, or the berth number to which she is proceeding for example. Although many yachts carry a set of international signal or code flags, the most likely application for most of them is entertaining children and decoration (dressing ship) during festivities. A full set comprises 26 distinctively patterned, mostly squarish alphabet flags (A and B are actually Burgees, with a swallow tail) , ten tapered numeral pendants (pronounced and sometimes spelled as pennants), three triangular "substitutes" (used to indicate repeat letters) , and a code flag/answering pendant. The few that might reasonably be expected to be used, such as the "Q" and "A"( Diver Down) flag need to be big enough to draw attention. The flags in yachting code flags kits are sometimes rather small, but larger versions of these particular flags can be made or purchased separately. Signal flags are now generally flown from halyards supported beneath the port spreaders. Although there is provision for spelling words letter by letter, efficient signaling largely relies on the use of 1,2, or 3 flags as coded groups representing standard words, phrases, or even whole sentences. For example TH = "I have lost my propeller", PBP = "Today" and the three hoists ADZ, MUO, T1530 put together mean "We sail at 1530 hours". Four letter groups were used to identify particular ships, hence the expression "making your number" when reporting your arrival somewhere. For flying in groups, one above the other, signal flags had a toggle at the top of the heading, and a loop at the bottom, so they could attach to each other. These days sister-clips are often used instead. Such codes can of course also be transferred by Semaphore, and by Morse Code using light flashes or radio. The system has evolved, and a current version of the "International Code of Signals  - Pub. 102" can be downloaded gratis from the Internet. Different private or secret codes are of course possible, and radio amateurs for example still using their Q code even in voice communications, as a quick, multi-lingual way to transfer information. E.g. QSY = "change frequency". Courtesy Flags Traditionally, after a foreign vessel has been granted pratique (released from quarantine) it displays the National flag (or National Maritime flag if there is one) of their host nation, day and night, while in its territorial waters. This is termed a Courtesy flag, acknowledging the sovereignty of the host Nation. In practice these days the courtesy flag is flown even while entering a port, before pratique has been granted. On yachts it is flown from halyards supported by the forward starboard crosstree or spreader. The flag need not be big, but should be large enough to be easily identified for what it is. Not flying a courtesy flag is discourteous, as is flying one that is tattered or frayed, or flying it beneath another flag. Disrespect to any Nation's flag or sovereignty is not a good idea, especially under the eyes of its citizens and officials. Since local boat's shouldn't fly their ensign beneath a spreader, a courtesy flag identifies a yacht as a foreign visitor even if its ensign isn't visible. This is useful both for crews of other foreign yachts that may have interests in common, and for locals who want to extend a welcome. Q-Flag Any vessel arriving from a foreign port is automatically in a state of quarantine until pratique is granted by the health officials in the port. The letter Q in the international code is a yellow rectangle. Flown by itself it is internationally recognised to mean that the vessel has a healthy crew (or at least no "notifiable" diseases such as cholera) and is requesting "pratique". On yachts the Q flag is flown beneath a port spreader, and indicates to all harbour officials including customs, immigration, and health, that they have a new arrival to process. These days skippers are generally also required to advise the port of their arrival by radio - in some states well in advance of their actual arrival. Official Ports of Entry generally have designated quarantine berths or anchorages where a yacht must wait until cleared or instructed to shift to an inspection berth. The Q flag must remain flying day and night until the skipper has been advised that pratique is granted, after which it must be removed. Other vessels should keep well clear of one flying the Q flag. Special Flags Emblems and logos on flags are of course widely used for non-official purposes too. Having had objects thrown at my boat in Ireland because our drooping Australian flag was mistaken for a defaced British ensign I appreciate why many of my countrymen fly some form of kangaroo flag from their spreaders. Yacht Clubs of course have their burgees and race flags, commodore pennants etc., and in some cases a wealth of traditionally associated etiquettes to be observed. Among flags seen internationally are those of the SSCC and TransOcean - proudly flown by cruising members all around the world. Some individuals display a private or "house" flag, and others use flags to advertise. I recall a yacht in Gibraltar with an odd-jobs mechanic on board flew a spanner/flipper emblem flag. If one accepts that the port spreaders are reserved for official signals, then all these other flags must be flown from beneath the starboard spreaders. If a courtesy flag is also required, it should be flown above the rest. Dressing Ship Vessels at anchor or moored often use their full set of code flags to dress ship to mark some event or celebration. The flags can be arranged in any sequence, but "AB2,UJ1, KE3, GH6, IV5, FL4, DM7, PO Third Repeater, RN First Repeater, ST Zero, CX9, WQ8, ZY Second Repeater" is said to provide a pleasing mix of shapes and colours. Yachts now often dress under way too, during parades etc., although traditionally this was reserved for a ship's launching and paying-off days. Other than the vessel's ensign, National flags are not traditionally part of dressing ship, probably because it unavoidably involves placing one Nation's flag above another. In a multicultural society such as Australia this sensitivity isn't a current public issue, and some yachts have long included courtesy flags from previous cruises when dressing ship. Making Flags Cheaper and smaller flags are mass produced by printing, and shouldn't be expensive, but larger durable flags are often made at least in part by sewing together pieces of different coloured cloths. Unlike printed flags, the two sides of a sewn flag are very slightly different, due to the overlap at seams. Curves or smaller details such as stars are applied as double or single sided appliqué, and really fine detail by embroidering. Mass produced flags are cheaply available within a country, but cruisers need a courtesy flag before arrival, so some crews carry fabrics of the more common colours, and make up their own. A kit containing white, dark & light blue, green, red, orange, yellow, and black fabrics will cover most needs, plus some canvass or heavy white bunting for the heading. A similar range of coloured polyester sewing and embroidery threads will be needed. It's important to hem all external edges, and to join pieces in a way that protects the cut edges - the "flat fell" seam is simple to make and achieves this (see diagram). At cross-overs, seams can involve quite a few layers but this isn't canvass-work, and most portable electric sewing machines should handle flags if taken slowly (powered through an inverter). ZigZag stitching is useful in places, but straight stitch is all that's really needed. Although toggles or sisterclips are used on commercial flags, a sewn loop of soft rope (we use the braid tubes from 10mm double braid rope) above and below the heading is satisfactory. Nylon fabrics are strong and light, but may be slippery to sew, and tend to flap more quickly and be noisier than heavier polyester materials. Since they're relatively small, and are flown high, the craftsmanship in courtesy flags need not be perfect. With more intricate designs a combination of sewing and colouring with permanent marker pens or paint will suffice at least until a printed flag can be purchased locally. Flags do deteriorate, and once the trailing edge of the fly begins to fray the damage can progress very rapidly in strong winds. Replacing the ensign overseas during an extended foreign cruise can prove particularly expensive, but again there is scope for DIY - the Union Jack provided quite a challenge to sew at the relatively small size needed for the "canton" in our Australian flag! Flags vary considerably in their proportions, and while precise dimensions for particular National Flags are probably available on-line, a more general resource such as www.flags.net provide scaled images that can easily be used as designs for DIY flags. Away from Internet access, a book such as Collins' "Complete flags of the world" is useful for identifying ship nationalities or making courtesy flags. If you're into sewing as a hobby, signal flags might be a worthwhile project, even if you don't need any courtesy flags. References If the history and traditions associated with flags interest you there are many on-line resources, including some such as the British National Maritime Museum (www.nmm.ac.uk) which are specifically marine oriented. For a historical perspective there are also specialised books on seafaring flags - eg Timothy Wilson's "Flags at Sea". For a broader look at the whole subject of flags - Vexillology as it's called, you might start with http://flagspot.net/flags/ Captions: ----------- Flags_1_First Fleet 1988.jpg "Flags have many historical and traditional connections" Flags_2 Bluewater Ralley Flags_3a_Norwegian yacht w Aust courtesy flag 300396.tif Flags_3b_Norwegian yacht w Aust courtesy flag Vertical 300396.tif Flags_4_Hekau International Flags.tif Flags_5a_ Lowering a courtesy flag.tif Flags_5b_ Aust courtesy flag Peter Keigs yacht 100398.tif Flags_5c_Q and French Courtesy flag.jpg Flags_6a_Making Australian Flag Starship.tif Flags_6b_Sewing St Helena Flag.tif Flags_6c_Vicky making Flag RSA.tif Flags_6d_St Helena Flag Starship.tif Flags_6e_Sewing Turkish Flag - Yorkeys Knob.tif Flags_7_Aust Flag Volo.tif Flags_8a_Mechanics flag Gibraltar cropped.tif Flags 8b_Transocean and other flags 2.tif Flags_8c_Three flags.tif 3flags.tif