DIY Caribbean Courtesy Flag Set for $50
- Jan 25, 2016
- 4 min read
My husband Ben, our pup Ruca and I are in the process of completing our first sailing season around the Caribbean aboard our sailboat, Wanderlust. On this journey, we've got a rough list of destinations in mind, but aren't sure exactly which countries we're going to be hitting. Too much planning takes the fun out of it, anyway, right?! So, we thought it would be best to have all courtesy flags for the region on board, just in case we decide to stop somewhere on a wild wanderlusting whim.
But, when we started shopping for all the Caribbean flags we'd need, we got TOTAL STICKER SHOCK!
To cover the Caribbean, S/V Wanderlust would need around 20 courtesy flags on board. To source the flags, we shopped in local marine stores, online, and even searched for used flags on ebay with little luck. The results were pretty astounding!
In general, we found that a courtesy flag cost roughly $15-$25 each, and you pretty much have to buy them each separately. Therefore, because we needed 20 flags, we were going to end up spending $400 buying each separately, many from different sellers and online stores. What a MESS!
As new sailors on an old, needy, boat, we didn't have $400 sitting around to spend on fancy courtesy flags. So, it was time to get a little creative.
I searched online for Caribbean flag sets, and came up with the below string banner on Amazon for $40, including shipping.
Click on the image to open the item in Amazon. Hopefully they haven't sold out for those of you hoping to do this project!
This string banner includes 20 national flags for the countries of :
Antigua/Barbuda
Aruba
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Dominica
Grenada
Haiti
Jamaica
Martinique
Puerto Rico
St. Kitts/Nevis
St. Lucia
Curacao
St. Vincent
Trinidad/Tobago
US Virgin Islands
Note: This flag set includes national flags, not maritime flags. Also, it does NOT include Turks and Caicos, but the cruising permit in T&C is only 7 days (unless you plan to stay long term) and we found most cruisers don't bother with the courtesy flag. Rude? Maybe, but you'll be gone soon anyway so who really cares. I would also recommend purchasing a French flag and a Dutch flag, from another source, to cover the island territories of those mother nations, such as St. Martin.
When I first ordered the flag set I was concerned that the quality of the material would be too poor to use as a courtesy flag, but they were relatively sturdy once they arrived. Although the product description doesn't list the actual material, they are made from some type of synthetic blend. Although they won't last a lifetime, they will last you a sailing season or two. Each flag is 12 inches x 18 inches which is a standard courtesy flag size for a 40 foot vessel.
So, time to turn this banner into a pile of courtesy flags!
After labeling each flag, and marking which side is up, I used scissors to separate each from the string banner. I didn't worry about hemming each side of the cut because the material leaves a clean cut and doesn't really fray.
Hooray, no sewing in this project! :)
Next, I used the cheap grommet set below for under $10, and a hammer to punch 2 holes in each flag, and insert 2 brass grommets in each. I also bought an extra set of grommets to complete the whole flag set. You can get these grommets and tools on Amazon at the links below, or also at your local hardware store.
Make sure to measure the width between your boat's flag line attachments before grommeting.
The whole grommet process took about 1 hour to make 20 flags. And... Viola! 20 Caribbean courtesy flags for around 50 bucks!
After paying $40 for the flag banner, and $10 for the grommet kit, I paid roughly $50 for this whole Caribbean flag set. Compared to buying each flag individually, we saved about $350! That means more money we get to stash away in the sailing kitty!
DIY Project Success!
Thanks for Reading,
Ben, Quinn and Ruca
UPDATE:
Aboard S/V Wanderlust, we've used these flags in a few countries, and have found them perfectly acceptable even though they're not the maritime flag. We saw many other sailors flying national flags instead of maritime flags, in the Bahamas for example. And some people appreciated the national flag MORE than the maritime flag. Plus not every country has a distinct maritime flag anyway.
As for wear and tear, they won't last you forever. They will last 1-2 years, probably 3 tops, depending on how long each is flown. We flew our Bahamas flag for the longest period of time so far, for about 3 months straight during some really rough storms and a LOT of sailing.
In the photo below there's an unused flag on the left, and our used Bahamas flag on the right.
You can see the end of the Bahamian flag is worn away and the black triangle has faded substantially. It lost +/- 3 inches in wind tattering at the end.
Although the flag is worn, it isn't ruined, and I would be comfortable using it for at least one more season in the Bahamas.
Let me know if you have any questions about this project.
Cheers and Happy Sailing!
Quinn
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