Alexi and Bob Sail Away

10 April 2022
24 February 2022
12 January 2022
20 October 2021 | Moving South
23 September 2021
02 August 2021
02 June 2021
08 April 2021
08 April 2021
15 February 2021
19 January 2021 | Marathon
02 January 2021
19 November 2020
17 November 2020
31 August 2020 | Deltaville
13 July 2020
20 June 2020 | Portsmouth, VA

The Q Flag

28 December 2019 | West End, Bahamas
Robert Malkin
Here is Bob holding the Q flag. When a ship enters a new country, even a pleasure craft like ours, it must enter at a port of entry and it must enter flying the Q flag. Once cleared, the vessel flies the country's courtesy flag.

The history of the Q flag is not clear.

Certainly the solid yellow flag stands for the letter Q in the maritime flag alphabet. If you've ever seen a ship entering port with many colorful flags strung up and down its masts, these are probably not for decoration. They could be a message spelled out in the maritime flag alphabet. So, perhaps the Q-flag is stands for "quarantine."

But, the solid yellow flag was also historically (and sometimes still) flown to indicate disease and death in the house. That might come from yellow fever (a viral disease that can turn your skin yellowish).

Whatever the origin, the modern use of the Q flag is to indicate that the boat is disease-free and ready to be boarded for inspection. No one is supposed to leave the boat until the national authorities have cleared the boat into the country.

For us, in fact, clearing in took just a few minutes (after walking the dog) with some pretty bored-looking officials (and lots of money - now taking visa, master but not discover).

We were boarded later in Nassau. Three men with large guns came aboard and "inspected" the vessel. They were super polite and professional.

In the end we have pile of paperwork to show for our Q flag.

p.s. We never actually got to raise the Q flag because the seas were too rough. So, we entered flying the American flag. Now, we are flying the Bahamian courtesy flag from the starboard yard!
Comments
Vessel Name: Lamantin
Vessel Make/Model: Silverton 372
Hailing Port: Wilmington, NC
Crew: Alexi and Bob
About: We are taking a few years to live aboard our boat and visit some amazing places.
Extra: Let us know if you want to come visit!
Lamantin's Photos - Main
Our time in Florida in the winter of 2021-22
13 Photos
Created 12 January 2022
Sights of us moving from the upper Chesapeake to FL in the fall of 2021
4 Photos
Created 20 October 2021
Summer 2021 spent in the Chesapeake
8 Photos
Created 23 September 2021
It is a huge job to replace the fuel tanks on a boat. Fortunately, they last about 20-25 years. So, we are not likely to ever do this again.
6 Photos
Created 2 August 2021
Photos from our trip from Florida to Rhode Island in the spring of 2021
2 Photos
Created 19 May 2021
We spent Dec/Jan 20/21 in the Florida Keys
23 Photos
Created 21 December 2020
Sights of the east coast of the US in the fall of 2020
4 Photos
Created 19 November 2020
Photos from our week in Utah
5 Photos
Created 16 October 2020
We spent a few summer months sailing around the southern Chesapeake
12 Photos
Created 20 June 2020
We sailed from West Palm Beach to Portsmouth VA in early 2020
20 Photos
Created 6 June 2020
We had two great weeks of friends and family visiting us on the boat on Great Exuma Island
18 Photos
Created 8 March 2020
The Exumas is a long chain of islands with many remote and beautiful spots to drop an anchor
39 Photos
Created 19 January 2020
We had a great New Year's vacation with our children and friends in the Bahamas
27 Photos
Created 10 January 2020
Photos of the trip from Georgia to The Bahamas
13 Photos
Created 15 December 2019
It was a lot of work and a lot of good byes ...
6 Photos
Created 6 December 2019
Trip down the ICW from Georgetown, SC to Brunswick, GA
10 Photos
Created 19 June 2019
Photos to get you oriented to the boat
11 Photos
Created 10 June 2019