Courtesy Flags

Jimmy Green Half Yard Courtesy Flags are popular with our customers and a big favourite with Team Jimmy Green. The World-Wide coverage is continually under review, looking to cover new cruising destinations, e.g. renascent countries, more remote islands, and popular regions. There are currently 218 options, and we'll consider any further additions arising from customer enquiries.

Jimmy Green Courtesy Flags are championed and endorsed by Alistair Green, enthused by his own enjoyable Ocean Cruising Courtesy Flag experiences - using Jimmy Green Flags, of course :-)

Customer orders, especially the larger ones that offer an insight into an extended and intriguing voyage plan, spark admiring interest, fond memories and animated conversation in the Jimmy Green office.

Jimmy Green Marine recommends a thorough check of your flag inventory and a top-up of all the possible flags missing from your intended voyage plan before setting out from your home berth, whether it’s a hop across the English Channel or a circumnavigation.

You can make the most of your preparation for an extended cruise by purchasing your flags in advance to enjoy the anticipation.

Explore all of the Courtesy Flags available in our interactive Courtesy Flags World Map

Remember that the weather and other circumstances may change your plans en route, so it is a good idea to include some contingency flags, just in case you are blown off course :-)

Jimmy Green Half Yard Courtesy Flags are manufactured to the highest standard in our supply partner factory in Italy. Their strict quality controls ensure that each flag is well crafted, neatly stitched, UV-Fade and Wind-Fray Resilient.

All Courtesy Flags are manufactured from substantial, durable 145 grams per m² (+/- 5%) top quality 100% polyester, special knit, woven bunting to measure 45cm x 30cm (Half Yard) with colourfast screenprint patterns and motifs.

Jimmy Green Half Yard Courtesy Flag Plus Factors:

• Half Yard size (traditional diagonal measurement) is nominal and may vary slightly due to the nature of the production/sewing process
• Half Yard means 18 inches measured diagonally from one corner of the flag to the other diametrically opposite corner
• Modern Flag Production defines the Half Yard size as 45cm x 30cm 
• Screen printed on one piece of flag fabric
• Excellent definition/detail on motifs, crests and emblems
• Top quality UV resistant 100% polyester woven bunting
• Colourfast and fade resistant
• Hoist reinforced with special flag webbing tape
• Braided line is sewn into the integral hoist tape, creating a loop at the top and a tail at the bottom, as per the photos
• Finished with twin stitched hems (outside edges)

Jimmy Green Courtesy Flags are not made from the shiny, cheaper nylon fabric, nor are they the smaller 20cm x 30cm size.

Jimmy Green stock over 210 different Courtesy Flags; we are happy to add more if there is any demand.

All Jimmy Green Courtesy Flags are available individually: You can filter the flags by Ocean/Location. Some Flags may appear in multiple zones, e.g. Spain = North Atlantic and Mediterranean. There is also additional local geographical information to help your search. The Parent Country is also listed where appropriate so that you can identify whether you need a specific island flag or not:

e.g. The Netherlands or Netherlands Antilles Courtesy Flag may cover Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius, Saba, Bonaire, and Curacao. However, the feel-good factor when you make landfall and sail into your chosen anchorage flying the correct local courtesy flag will more than makeup for the extra price of the individual flags :-)

Jimmy Green Courtesy Flags are also available in Bundles by Voyage Plan, Ocean Passage or Location.

Feedback on Courtesy Flags

Any feedback on local reaction to our courtesy flags is welcomed - we will happily do some more research and update our information and even our flags if required.

Where there are different options on courtesy flags, we list them separately, and any first-hand feedback is always welcome.

For example, the British Virgin Islands is usually red, and that is what is listed, but it is generally welcomed in blue, and we have some blue if you would like one.,

Similarly, Bermuda usually is red, but the local authorities generally accept blue.

Spain is available as the simple red/yellow/red horizontal striped courtesy (less expensive) or with the correct Yacht Ensign Crest option.

Bahamas is available as the national flag and as the civil ensign as an alternative because feedback suggests that this version may be more widely used locally.

N.B. Foreign Yachts should fly the red ensign as a courtesy flag when visiting the UK (not a Union Jack). They may also fly the red ensign for some associated British islands, dominions and territories without causing offence.

Read more about Courtesy Flag Etiquette

Jimmy Green 3/4 Yard Courtesy Flag for larger yachts or making a statement

Plus Factors:

Premium Sewn and Appliqué Sewn: manufactured in the UK

• Three Quarter Yard Size (traditional diagonal measurement) is a nominal 70cm x 35cm and may vary slightly due to the nature of the production/sewing process.
• Complex motifs are screen prints or badges appliquéed to the appropriate panels
• Tricolours and other simple panels are fully sewn - stitched together to form the complete pattern
• Complex panels are full-screen prints
• Excellent definition/detail on motifs, crests and emblems
• Top quality MoD UV resistant 100% polyester woven bunting
• Component panels cut out from MOD approved 155gm m² top quality UV resistant 100% polyester woven bunting
• Rich colours
• Colourfast and fade resistant
• Hoist reinforced with special flag webbing tape
• Braided Polyester line is sewn into the integral hoist tape, creating a loop to grip the varnished toggle at the top and a tail at the bottom
• Finished with triple stitched hems (outside edges)

N.B. Due to the intricate nature of some emblems and motifs, the screen-printed design is sewn onto the panel using the appliqué stitching technique. Some complex patterns and flags made up of multiple shapes, e.g. fesses, pales, bends, crosses, palls, chevrons, bends, and borders - may be made from one screen-printed piece of flag fabric: FLAG SHAPES AND GLOSSARY

How to label your courtesy flags and organise your flag stowage

Jimmy Green half yard courtesy flags are all manufactured from a soft, pliable, polyester woven/knitted fabric, which will not need ironing.

They are all a uniform design, half yard size, with an attachment loop at the top of the hoist and a line at the bottom.

This means they will conveniently stow together, either flat in the bottom of a drawer or rolled up in a locker with the hoist lines all tucked in.

It is likely sufficient to allocate a suitable locker and roll or fold them neatly together for yachts that only require a few courtesy flags.

However, for cruising the Caribbean, Pacific or the Indian Ocean (including the Red Sea and the Gulf of Persia), where there is a multitude of different flags required and therefore multiple changes, there are some simple steps you can follow to make the use and safekeeping of your courtesy flags a pleasure rather than a chore.

It is advisable to label your courtesy flags from the outset after checking them against perceived wisdom, e.g. the Jimmy Green website, a comprehensive pocket Flag Book, Wikipedia, or Cruising Blogs.

Some courtesy flags are memorable, but some may be difficult for you or your crew to pinpoint precisely after a long voyage without any Wi-Fi or 4g to check your decision.

Labelling or Marking will prevent the slightly embarrassing error of flying the wrong flag when you sail into a foreign anchorage. None of the crew is likely to relish a pressurised search for the correct flag followed by a hurried strike and re-hoist, especially if an amused reception committee is enjoying your discomfort.

Jimmy Green half yard courtesy flags stow neatly together, lending themselves to simple organisation and identification.

Lay the flags on top of one another with the obverse face upward. This means that the hoist tape is to the left.

Use an indelible waterproof marker pen to write the flag's name on the hoist tape.

Arrange them in your preferred order, e.g. alphabetical, voyage plan.