Flying a National Ensign Correctly Boating flag, burgee and pennant etiquette 1. The National Ensign is the most important flag aboard your boat, It ranks above all others. Pictured here is the U.S. national ensign, modeled after the American flag. In American waters, you can choose to fly the Yacht ensign with the circle of stars surrounding a fouled anchor, rather than the National ensign. In foreign waters, however, the national ensign is the only proper flag to fly. The ensign is always rectangular in shape, with the length being called the “fly” and the height called the “hoist”. A properly sized ensign will equal one (1) inch of fly for each foot of boat length. For example, a 24′ boat should fly an ensign that is 24 inches at the fly (long). If the flag sizes available do not exactly match the length of your boat, select the next bigger size, not the smaller one. The U.S. ensign is always flown at the stern of your boat. NEVER display the national ensign on your bow staff. Flying the ensign anywhere but at the stern of your boat is considered disrespectful of your country’s flag. The ensign is hoisted at 0800 (8 AM) and lowered at sunset. Leaving your ensign up all night is also considered disrespectful. By following the correct procedures, we demonstrate just how proud we are of the nation in which we live.   U.S and Canadian Flags 2. Burgees and Pennants: Burgees and pennants are generally triangular in shape and, on most powerboats, are flown from the bow staff (pole). Burgees can represent your boat manufacturer’s name, your initials, your yacht club or local Power Squadron affiliation. I have also seen fish, cocktails, skunks, near-naked ladies and all manner of fantastic other things emblazoned on pennants. (In other words, go for it!) Burgees and pennants can be flown both day and night.   3. Foreign Flags or Courtesy Flags: When entering a foreign port, you must hoist the code flag “Quebec” (solid yellow) from the starboard spreader if you have a signal mast or, if not, then from your radio antenna. This means you are requesting “pratique” or permission to use the port. Once you pass through customs and quarantine, you then replace the “Q” flag with a miniature version of the host countries national ensign, which is called a “courtesy” flag. Remember, you still display your own country’s ensign at the stern.   4. International Distress Flag: The International distress flag is a square–shaped, bright orange flag with a black ball and a black square. When this flag is displayed, ALL other vessels are required by law to come to the aid of the boat in distress. If you do not have a distress flag aboard, flying the National Ensign upside down is also regarded as a signal of distress.   5. Diver Down Flag: The diver down flag is a square-shaped, bright red colored flag with a diagonal white stripe. You may display either the “Diver Down” or a rigid replica of an “Alfa” flag.   6. Man Overboard Flag: A man overboard flag, consisting of the letter “O”, can be fixed to a staff which is in turn fixed to a life ring.   7. Where to Locate the Boat’s flags: This will open in a new window - Flag Locations PDF Link 8. Signal Flags: There is a different signal flag for every letter of the alphabet, as well as ten (10) numerical flags, three (3) repeater flags and a code answering flag. All letters of the alphabet have a phonetic name, starting with Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and ending with X-ray, Yankee and Zulu. In the Great Lakes area we may want to consider keeping some of the flags below, a National Ensign, and a Canadian Ensign aboard our boats. All alphabet signs are below. ALFA DIVER DOWN   NOVEMBER NO BRAVO DANGEROUS CARGO   OSCAR MAN OVERBOARD CHARLIE YEST   PAPA ABOUT TO SAIL DELTA KEEP CLEAR   QUEBEC ECHO ALTERING TO STARBOARD   ROMEO FOXTROT DISABLED   SIERRA ENGINES GOING ASTERN GOLF WANT A PILOT   TANGO KEEP CLEAR OF ME HOTEL PILOT ON BOARD   UNIFORM INDIA ALTERING TO PORT   VICTOR REQUIRE ASSISTANCE JULIETTE KEEP CLEAR   WHISKEY NEED MEDICAL ASSISTANCE KILO DESIRE TO COMMUNICATE   XRAY LIMA STOP INSTANTLY   YANKEE DRAGGING ANCHOR MIKE I AM STOPPED   ZULU