Canadian ensign

S

softsides

New Member
May 1, 2010
12
Catawba Is., Ohio, Lake Erie
Boat Info
310 Sundancer 2000
Engines
twin Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI 300hp
Inboards
The better half and I are headed to Canada next week. I have a question about courtesy. Is it courteous and customary to fly the flag of the country you are visiting or is it no big deal? I thought we should also fly the Canadian flag in addition to Stars & Stripes, but wife says she doesn't want to spend the money on something we may only use once a year at most. Opinions on protocol?
 
I fly the Canadian flag my Grandfather once flew on his boat (same staff too) when we go into Canada, which we'll do next Saturday.
 
Thanks. I like it too. Here we are with Old Glory.
10494941_10203040209863898_3699316068647535882_o.jpg
 
I pulled into Killarney years ago flying the stars and stripes from the light mast, a burgee at the bow and the Canadian flag from my starboard antenna. The fuel dock attendant leaned over and said, "it's considered polite to fly our flag during your visit".

I confidently turned around to point up at my antenna (which I figured was close enough to a sailboats starboard rigging, which is where they fly the courtesy flag), only to see 2 clips where the $30 flag had been that morning. Clearly, the clips weren't up to the duty. I decided the bow mast would be a better place to avoid being rude. I went to the "store" (anyone who's been to Killarney will understand the quotes) and asked for a Canadian Burgee. I said that purposely, because burgees have a uniform size and I needed it to fit the bow mast. Wholy crap were they offended. DO YOU MEAN A CANADIAN FLAG?!?

So yeah, ah, fly the Canadian flag or suffer the consequences!
 
Someone can correct me here, and it has been a long time since I have looked at this but, I believe the proper protocall is that the Stars and Strips (or other country of regrestration) always belongs on the stern and the courtesy flag goes on the bow or somewhere else. Not trying to bust any balls here. I just got my memory going from when I lived in Detroit and was in Canadian waters often 30 some years ago.
 
That's what I do, but there are so many "rules" that even if I try to keep them all straight, they start to contradict each other.

Apparently some countries insist on their flags always being in the position on honor (stern), but I doubt I'll ever encounter that. In the Great Lakes, the accepted standard is the yacht ensign (stars in a circle) or U.S. flag is flown at the stern of a U.S. vessel and the courtesy flag on stbd rigging of a sailboat or bow of a power boat.
Canal1.jpg


I've heard that the U.S. yacht ensign flag isn't supposed to be flown at all in foreign waters. There's also the yellow Quarantine flag that's supposed to flown in foreign waters until the vessel and passengers have all cleared customs. I don't know anyone who does that though.
 
Last edited:
Startin' to sound like we're doin' it wrong; We fly club burgees on the bow rail and the flag of the country who's waters we're in on the flag staff at the stern. In US waters we only fly the US flag, and in CD waters we only fly the CD flag. (that's probably due to the fact that we only have one small staff on the stern) I think on our parents' larger boats they used to fly Old Glory ABOVE the Maple Leaf when in US waters and ONLY the Maple Leaf when in CD waters.:huh: Good thread.:thumbsup:
 
RollerCoastr said:
That's what I do, but there are so many "rules" that even if I try to keep them all straight, they start to contradict each other


I've heard that the U.S. ensign flag isn't supposed to be flown at all in foreign waters. There's also the yellow Quarantine flag that's supposed to flown in foreign waters until the vessel and passengers have all cleared customs. I don't know anyone who does that though.
Click to expand...

When I was was Tobermory last week, Rich DeVos came in on Seaquest, his 160' Westport yacht, as well as 3 of his friends on 85 footers (1 Westport, 1 Azimut and I can't recall the make of the other) When they got to port I noticed they were flying the US flag from the stern staffs, and the Canadian flag from radar arches. Once docked, they hoisted the yellow quarantine flags. They were only up for a short time while they made the call.
 
Nehalennia said:
I fly the Canadian flag my Grandfather once flew on his boat (same staff too) when we go into Canada, which we'll do next Saturday.
Click to expand...

Where are you heading to? I'm packing up the boat this weekend and heading out to Desolation Sound and points further north on Monday.
 
Off the topic a bit; this reminds me of way back in the good ol' days when we would all pile into our little runabouts and scoot over to San Juan or Orcas Islands to party with our US buddies. We were pretty much free to do whatever we wanted back in those days; bonfires on the beaches, shrimp in a big pot of boiling water on a coleman stove, big bottles of cheap wine from Canada and all that awesome, affordable beer from the USA side. Nobody gave two hoots about where you were from, what flag you flew, whether or not you had a fishing licence, who's booze you were drinking or hot dogs you were roasting, who cleared customs etc etc. We just showed up with whatever we could bring and had a great time with everyone. Wunder what happened. (Does anyone from the San Juans remember the pig bakes?)
 
Here is what the 61st edition of Chapman's Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handing manual says about this subject...

Honoring Other National Flags


As a matter of courtesy, it is proper to fly the flag of a foreign nation on your boat when you enter and operate on its waters. There are only a limited number of positions from which flags may be displayed, and consequently when a flag of another nation is flown, it usually must displace one of the flags commonly displayed in home waters. It is not hoisted until clearance has been completed and the yellow "Q" flag has been removed, and the vessel has been granted pratique by the appropriate authorities.
The following are general guidelines to follow reguarding courtesy flags:

On a mastless powerboat, the courtesy flag of another nation replaces any flag that is normally flown at the bow of the boat.


When a motorboat has a mast with spreaders, the courtesy flag is flown at the starboard spreader.

On a two-masted motorboat, the courtesy flag displaces any flag normally flown at the forward starboard spreader.

On a sailboat, the courtesy flag is flown at the boat's starboard spreader, whether the United States ensign is at the stern staff, or flown from the leech. If there is more than one mast, the courtesy flag is flown from the starboard spreader of the forward mast.
Although these points serve as protocol in most waters, keep in mind that customs observed in various foreign waters differ from one another; in case of doubt, inquire locally or observe other craft from your country.

As noted previously, U.S. vessels while in international or foreign waters must fly the U.S. ensign (50-star flag) at the stern or gaff or leech, rather than the USPS ensign or the yacht ensign. When the starboard spreader is used for the "courtesy ensign" of the foreign country, the USPS ensign or similar flag may be flown from the port spreader; if the vessel has multiple flag halyards on the starboard spreader, the USPS ensign is flown there, inboard from the courtesy ensign.

The U.S. ensign, club burgee, officer flag, and private signal are flown as in home waters.

Don't fly a foreign courtesy ensign after you have returned to U.S. waters. Although this may show that you've "been there," it is not proper flag etiquette.

In Chicago, we get visiting yachts (100' - 230') which are foreign flagged (typically for tax purposes) and they always fly their country flag on the stern and a small courtesy American flag on their mast.

Personally, I would fly the American flag on the stern and the Canadian flag from the bow (in place of my burgee), but I think as long as you fly the Canadian flag in addition to Old Glory, you should not be an outcast when visiting our neighbors to the North.
 
Good info. We used to fly the Canadian flag from our stern when in CA waters. Now I'll switch over to flying it from the bow when we enter CA waters.

I don't have a yellow Q flag so I'm not going to worry about that.
 
A courtesy flag is displayed slightly higher then your home country flag. On our vessel our US flag is mounted on our radar arch and when motoring in Canadian waters (which is usually every year) I mount the Canadian flag (burgee size) higher then our US flag on the VHF antenna. I see Canadian vessels in Puget Sound every year and there are displaying the same with our the US flag.....Doing the right thing, is always the right thing to do.
 
The Bill Collector said:
A courtesy flag is displayed slightly higher then your home country flag. On our vessel our US flag is mounted on our radar arch and when motoring in Canadian waters (which is usually every year) I mount the Canadian flag (burgee size) higher then our US flag on the VHF antenna. I see Canadian vessels in Puget Sound every year and there are displaying the same with our the US flag.....Doing the right thing, is always the right thing to do.
Click to expand...

Which is an acceptable way to do it. A better way is on the bow. The Canadian Flag always has the highest point of honor on a Canadian Vessel. I would think the same would apply for an American vessel and flag.

https://www.cps-ecp.ca/PublicUploads/236149CPS-HowFlyFlags_EN-rev2.pdf
 
Last edited:
[h=2]Courtesy Flags[/h]
When you visit foreign water, your boat should display a courtesy flag (the civil ensign of the country you are visiting) whenever your U.S. national ensign (the USPS ensign or the yacht ensign should not be displayed in foreign waters) is displayed. (The USPS ensign and U.S. yacht ensign should not be worn in foreign waters)If your vessel is mastless, it should wear this "courtesy flag" at the bow, in lieu of a squadron or club burgee, or on a starboard antenna strong enough to support it. It your vessel has one or more masts, display it single-hoisted at the outboard signal halyard of the main starboard spreader. Move any flag normally flown there to the inboard starboard halyard or, if your boat has only one halyard per side, to the port spreader halyard.The customs observed in various foreign waters differ from one another. Try to learn the correct procedure for the country you are entering. For example, is some countries it is customary to fly the courtesy flag only after the quarantine flag (the yellow 'Q' flag) and the vessel has been grantedpratique by the appropriate authorities.
Do not fly a foreign courtesy flag after you have returned to U.S. waters. It is not to be used as a badge of accomplishment for having cruised to another country.
http://www.usps.org/f_stuff/etiquett.html#foreign

​
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,282
Messages
1,429,983
Members
61,150
Latest member
Wonderball2Swilm
Back
Top