Flag Day on Sunday

Back in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson officially established June 14 as Flag Day. It commemorates the adoption of the U.S. flag, whose design was finalized by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 after that famous sewing job by Betsy Ross.

Being as this coming Sunday is Flag Day, and many sailors like to fly both the Stars and Stripes as well as other flags, we thought it only proper to reprise a short course on flag etiquette that appeared in our October, 2001, issue.

• Boating flags come in two versions, the regular 50-star flag known in nautical lingo at the ensign, and the ‘yacht ensign’ — the one whose blue field features a fouled anchor surrounded by 13 stars. Either is acceptable, although by law, documented vessels are actually required to fly the yacht ensign. For what it’s worth, we’ve never heard of this law being enforced.
• The proper size of the flag is determined by the size of the boat. The rule is 1 inch mininum of horizontal flag measurement for every foot of boat length. When in doubt, err on the next size larger flag. (For example, a 41-ft boat can fly a 48-inch long flag.)
• The ensign or yacht ensign may be flown from either of two locations: the stern of the boat or leech of the aftermost sail. The former is the norm these days simply because leech-flown flags are more prone to foul on modern backstays.
• Flag Day commemorates only the display of the American flag. There are no hard and fast rules regarding when and where other flags are flown, although the custom developed over the years (and the one noted by Chapmans) is to fly them from the starboard spreader on the most forward mast. Club burgees or ‘private signal’ flags may also be flown from the masthead.

For more on on this subject, see ‘Showing Our Colors’ in our website Features section.