Joe 
Thanks for all that good flag protocol. You might have been directing your corrections to Rick lang or - - - 
But I have never claimed to know proper yacht flag standards. 
I do what I’ve been doing since I was kid and never looked up the official rules for flags.  
However, I happen to agree with everything you said. 
I fly my ensign from a staff on a bracket on the stern rail,  just to starboard of center. 
I fly burgees from the masthead at rest and on the starboard flag halyard when sailing. 
I use the main halyard or topping lift for the masthead, either works, depending on boom location etc. 
Was St. Patric a sailor? 
Ric 

Richard Stott, AIA, LEED AP 
www.stottarchitecture.com
Office	631-283-1777
Cell		516-965-3164 

> On Mar 17, 2021, at 2:44 PM, Joe Dempsey <joedempsey at hughes.net> wrote:
> 
> Ric, you are correct, the burgee (assuming you are referring to a club burgee
> and more specifically our soon to arrive Rhodes 22 burgee) should only be
> flown in domestic waters. You are incorrect that it should be only flown
> from a halyard from the starboard spreader.  In fact the preferred location
> is either from a small staff on the bow for a mastless or single mast vessel
> or from the "truck" or masthead of a single masted vessel. As an alternate
> location, it MAY be flown from the starboard spreader if there is no
> pigstick or block at the masthead.
> 
> I vehemently disagree with your decree that the national ensign is "always"
> flown from the aft shroud. In fact, the Ensign should never be flown from
> any shroud save the Backstay. "The national ensign [US Stars and Stripes or
> Canadian "Red Maple Leaf"] should be displayed at the peak of the gaff,
> i.e., the outer end of the spar extending aft from the mast of your boat—if
> you boat has a gaff. If it does not, fly it from the flagstaff at your
> boat's stern. If your boat has an overhanging boom or an outboard motor,
> your flagstaff may be offset to starboard (preferably) from your boat's
> centerline. Marconi-rigged sailboats [of which the Rhodes 22 is one] may fly
> the ensign from the leech of the aftermost sail (or from the back stay),
> approximately 2/3 the distance up its length. This puts it in about the same
> position it would occupy if the boat were gaff-rigged."
> https://www.usps.org/f_stuff/etiquett.html
> 
> 
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> 
> -----
> Joe Dempsey
> s/v Respite 
> Rhodes 22 1989/2005
> Deltaville,VA
> --
> Sent from: http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/