When it comes to the great outdoors, flags are found flying high in all types of weather. There are garden flags, dealership banners and common stick flags for parades and political rallies. Yet, perhaps the custom outdoor flags that face weather at its extremes are nautical flags. They may be ensigns, signal flags or house flags – it makes no difference. A marine flag needs to be able to take on any kind of weather thrown at it.
Types of Nautical Custom Outdoor Flags
While many nautical flags are mass-produced, many are still custom-made to meet the specific standards of a client. This is true whether the customer is the country’s navy or the owner of a shipping company. Various common types of nautical flags include:
1. Ensigns: These are flown to show nationality
2. Jacks: Specifically employed for signaling and distinction
3. House flags: These indicate the owner or company
4. Signal flags: These are used for sending messages between ships and between ships and those on land
5. Rank flags
6. Yacht flags or burgees: These indicate the yacht club the vessel belongs to
7. Custom outdoor flags must be tough enough to stand the rigors of the weather. They must also be flown according to certain etiquette when at sea or in port.
Nautical Flag Etiquette
Vessels at sea or in port must conform to certain etiquette. While those who own smaller boats may ignore certain aspects of boating etiquette, larger vessels cannot. Throughout the world, certain rules apply. For example, if a ship is at sea, it salutes the other ship by dipping its flags. This is particularly common between merchant ships and naval or warships.
When a ship is in harbor, the ensign is hoisted at 8 am local time and remains in place until sunset. The only variations to this may occur in arctic waters where the days are unusually long. The ship may adapt to meet the local standards or common sense. If a ship is in a foreign port, it should fly a “Courtesy Ensign.” This is the ensign of the particular port country. This tends to be the Merchant Ship Ensign of the country being visited. At the same time, it will also fly flags clearly indicating its country of origins.
A yacht may follow a similar procedure. Instead of a house or national flag, it will fly the burgee of its home yacht club. When in harbor, the yacht owner will often obtain the flag of the local yacht club.
There are many different customs regulating the sailing of nautical custom outdoor flags at sea and in port. Knowing what flag to fly and when, is part of an intricate way ships communicate. While signal flags may clearly be the means of sending messages between ships and to land, other flags are also a comprehensible way of indicating facts about a boat. To accomplish their task, these flags need to be durable – able to withstand all types of weather.
