Quote:
| Originally Posted by Seafarer US flag etiquette dictates that the US flag is always highest on the same pole or halyard, and if on separate poles, it is flown highest on a taller(the tallest) pole.
The club burgee does not go higher than the US flag, nor does another nation's flag when flown simultaneously (another nation's flag gets flown at the same height as the US flag on US soil).
From a pure flag etiquette standpoint, when other flags are flown simultaneously in the US, the other flags may be smaller but not larger than the US flag. |
The position of the U.S. Flag on a mast which also has a gaff is a controversial one. According to long-standing maritime tradition, the gaff is the position of honor on a ship and thus is where the U.S. Flag should be flown. Yachting organizations, following the tradition of the seas, erect land-based, gaff-rigged flagpoles and fly the U.S. Flag at the gaff as well, feeling that the gaff is the position of honor on the pole.
The U.S. Code, Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 7(f), which postdates this maritime tradition, states that “when flags of States, cities, or localities, or pennants of societies are flown on the same halyard with the flag of the United States, the latter should always be at the peak. When the flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States should be hoisted first and lowered last. No such flag or pennant may be placed above the flag of the United States or to the United States flag’s right.”
Alternatively, you can visit the US Power Squadron
www.usps.org/national/fecom/faq/gaffpole.html