cruising on the Mary T

For those who may not know the etiquette, boats visiting foreign countries are expected to fly the flag of the host country in a prominent position on their boat. This is referred to as a courtesy flag. On sailboats, it’s supposed to be flown on a flag halyard on the starboard side of the mast.

We spent about four months in the Bahamas our previous trip in 2008. We used flag on the right (Ny-Glo, purchased from Defender)

This year, we’ve been here five weeks today (February 19) and are using the flag on the left. (some no-name brand, purchased from Bluewater Books & Charts)

Did we have that much more wind in five weeks this year than we did in four months in 2008? Or, does Ny-Glo make much better flags? We’re inclined to believe the latter.