[drbubk]

I am curious regarding how many flag officer flags should be flown at the same time. Is there a citation/refernece that gives guidance to proper protocol?

[sarahw]

None that I know of, but honestly I know very little about yacht club protocol. As long as the American flag flies highest, I don't think it matters how many other flags there are. If anyone has a better answer, please reply!

Sarah

[YCHistorian]

Yacht club officers flags are used to announce which officers are present at the club that day, or are "on duty". They are always flown from the starboard yardarm.

[Peter Ansoff]

Yacht club officers flags are used to announce which officers are present at the club that day, or are "on duty".

The US Navy has a similar protocol. Interestingly, they do it in reverse: they fly pennants at the starboard yardarm when the Admiral and the Captain are not on board. The "absentee" pennants are the first and third substitute pennants, respectively, from the International Code of Signals.

I read recently that the Navy is considering the idea of eliminating the use of absentee pennants, because they don't want potential bad guys to know when the senior officers are absent.

Peter Ansoff

[wbarnett]

Can more than one oficers flag be flown from a single halyard on the starboard yardarm?

[YCHistorian]

Yes, more than one can be flown from the starboard yardarm of the yacht club's flag mast. Actually, the flag of whatever officer is present that day can be flown. I have even seen a Past Commodore's flag flown from a yacht club yardarm. On the flag officer's own boat, however, he should fly only the flag of his current or past office from the boat's starboard spreader (on a sailboat). For example, if he is currently the Fleet Captain, he should fly the Fleet Captain's flag. If he is no longer a Flag Officer, but was a past Commodore, he should fly the Past Commodore's flag.