Cheshire wrote:
Hopefully, this will fall in the "there's no such thing as a stupid
question" category.

When you arrive in the Bahamas, where do you put the quarantine flag? On the
bow, leaving the American flag on the stern?

When you clear customs and immigration, where do you fly the courtesy flag?
Do you fly both it and the American flag?

Here's help from US Power Squadrons. The site is:
http://www.usps.org/f_stuff/etiquett.html

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.

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Chuck Bollinger
Seattle Sail and Power Squadron