Boating and Sailing.pdf - Moja ladja

Chapter 12: Rules of the Marine Road
The same system applies in the Great Lakes and in any rivers that lead to the sea, as
nearly all large ones do.
Special Situations
Okay, but what about a channel that heads north and south, when you know that the
ocean is to the east? There, a designated landward is used; that is, the government agency
placing the markers decides which ways will be considered landward and seaward.
For the Intracoastal Waterway, one of the most-used recreational boat routes in the
world, the designated landward course is south along the Atlantic shore, north and then
west along the Gulf of Mexico. ICW markers usually have a yellow horizontal band added
to the conventional color to indicate that they are not part of the main harbor marking
system.
On the Pacific coast, traveling northward is considered heading toward land. The steep
and often rocky shore here offers no protected waterway or inside passage until you get to
Puget Sound, however.
Note that the coastal marker system, proceeding clockwise around the U.S. coast, keeps
the red markers always on the landward side, making it easier to remember.
Inland Buoyage
The states have agreed among themselves on a system called the Uniform State Waterway
Marking System (USWMS). It follows the lateral system discussed earlier, except that it
substitutes black for green in the GPOE system, and there is no meaning in the buoy
shape—all are cans.
Also in the USWMS system, informational markers indicating rocks, idle zones, swimming
areas, or directions to distant lakes or rivers are displayed on white cans or signs
with orange borders and symbols and black
lettering.
Look Out!
Other Navigational Aids
Lighthouses are not likely to be overlooked by
anybody—the blinding sweep of their lights can
be seen for many miles and can act as an auxiliary
compass point anywhere you’re within range. You
can see the tower by day for miles, too.
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Range markers are
effective only when you’re in a
specific portion of a channel.
Many are built in shallow water,
so if you get too close, you could
leave the channel marked with
the familiar lateral red and green
marks and run aground.