Can you answer this question?

[administrator]

We received this email today from a SailNet website visitor who posed the following question:

Hi Folks,
Curious, but with tongue planted firmly in cheek:
I just finished reading John Rousmaniere’s article "Flying the Flag" (http://www.sailnet.com/collections/articles/index.cfm?articleid=rousma0041) . I know it was written some time ago (not sure when), but I’m confused about something.
Mr. Rousmaniere states "The burgee's dimensions are, on the fly, approximately two inches for each foot of distance between the water and the top of the tallest mast; and on the hoist, two-thirds the length of the fly." Uh….um….let’s see…..that would make my yacht club burgee on my Newport 28 sloop to be something like…..uh…..86 inches long by 27 inches high.
Using his dimensions (my mast is 38 feet, and is about 5 feet about the water), I end up with a burgee that is bigger than the American flag on my boat!
What did I miss?

[TrueBlue]

There is an obvious typo in the SailNet article. It is my understanding that a burgee's dimensions, on the fly, should be 1/2" for each waterline to masthead foot . . . not 2". Therefore a sailboat with a 43 ft bridge clearance, should have a burgee that measures approx. 21-1/2".