IN RULES of the road, Part I, I engaged in a rather long explanation of the IALA international system of channel marking, and the history behind those red and green markers and buoys.
AS I continue to cruise around the world, in light of this knowledge, I have begun noticing other markers and buoys. Have you ever seen a unique or unusual marker/buoy and wondered what it was for?
IN 2022 we were in Porto, Portugal, and I noticed a set of bright yellow buoys near one side of the Douro River, along the Ribeira section of the city. I had seen yellow buoys somewhere before, and kind of absentmindedly wondered about them. This time, I decided to do some checking. It turns out that these yellow buoys - known as "cautionary buoys," serve the purpose of warning boaters and navigators of nearby "dangers," which can vary greatly. The hazards marked by these yellow buoys can be submerged structures, objects and cables, pipelines, discharge pipes, nearby firing ranges, racecourses, and areas where no safe through passage exists.
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| This U.K. buoy marks the location of an underground oil conduit |
A VARIATION of these "hazard" markers are known as "Cardinal" buoys. In addition to designating a hazard, they employ a directional system identifying where the navigator should stay in order to avoid the hazard. The tops of these buoys have a dual triangle marker. The direction of the triangles denotes the direction of "safe water" from the hazard.
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| "Cardinal" Buoy System |
SO NOW you know what those yellow marker buoys are for.
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