Flags

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Passages & Ports ] [ Photo Albums ] [ Video Clips ] [ Letters Home ] [ About Heartsong III ] [ About Voyaging ] [ Publications ] [ Links ] [ Search ] [ Contact Us ]

Flags

Flags Aboard Heartsong III

Primary Flag -- Stars and Stripes

According to international maritime law, a yacht must fly from the stern an easily visible flag of the country in which it is registered. We, of course, fly the Stars and Stripes. Because of fraying and fading, we have found we must install a new one approximately every six months.

In international waters, flying the colors of one's country identifies a vessel as subject only to the jurisdiction of its home country. Boarding a properly flagged, lawful vessel at sea requires permission of the captain, or else is an act of war or piracy (except of course if boarding is by a government or law enforcement vessel of one's own country). A vessel that declines to fly colors, or that flies false colors (of a country other than its registration), is subject to boarding at will and to the jurisdiction of the country of the boarding vessel.

When a vessel sails into the territorial waters of another country, the vessel subjects itself to the law of that country, regardless of the flag the vessel flies.

Courtesy Flags

According to international flag etiquette, a visiting yacht should fly near the starboard spreader a small flag of the country in whose waters it is sailing. Until the yacht clears customs, the courtesy flag should be flown beneath a yellow quarantine flag. After customs is cleared, the quarantine flag should be lowered and the courtesy flag flown alone.

If the yacht's captain or owner is from a different country than the one in which the yacht is registered, courtesy may be shown to the captain or owner by flying near the port spreader a small flag of his or her nationality. For example, we often fly from our portside flag halyard the Lone Star of Texas.

Here is a list of the courtesy flags necessary for our circumnavigation itinerary. Average cost of a courtesy flag is about US$15, and they last about four months flown daily. Voyagers talented in sewing or drawing (not us, I'm afraid) often make their own.

Antigua

Aruba

Australia

Bahamas

Barbados

Bonaire

British Virgin Islands

Canary Islands

Croatia

Curacao

Djibouti

Egypt

Eritrea

Fiji

France

French Polynesia

Galapagos

Great Britain

Greece

Grenada

Indonesia

Italy

Malaysia

Maldives

Malta

Martinique

Micronesia

Morocco

Netherland Antilles

New Zealand

Panama

Puerto Rico

Saba

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

Spain

Sri Lanka

St. Kitts & Nevis

St. Lucia

St. Vincent

Texas

Thailand

Tonga

Trinidad & Tobago

Turkey

United States (lg)

Vanuatu

Venezuela

Yemen

Yugoslavia

Miscellaneous Flags

Here is a list of other flags we keep aboard:

#	Flag	Notes
1	Distress flag (int'l)	Bright orange
2	Dive flag	US version (red) and int'l version (blue)
4 sets	Dress ship flags & streamers
2	Quarantine flag	Yellow
1	SSCA Commodore's burgee	Seven Seas Cruising Association

Reference Materials

Flags, by Eve Devereux (rev. ed. 1998); published by Chartwell Books, 114 Northfield Ave., Edison, NJ 08837 USA

The Law of the Sea (in a Nutshell), by Louis B. Sohn and Kristen Gustafson (1984); published by West Publishing Co., 610 Opperman Drive, PO Box 64526, St. Paul, MN 55164 USA