Chapter 7 Aids to Navigation Your nautical road

Chapter 7 Aids to Navigation: Your nautical “ road signs” Sailing Skills And Seamanship

Lesson Objectives Sailing Skills And Seamanship • • • Aids to Navigation (ATONS) Cautions in using ATONS Meaning of chart symbols Availability of electronic ATONS Reference materials – changes in ATONS SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 2

ATONS Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Why are ATONS essential for boaters? • Show safe waterways and passages • Show dangers to navigation Aids to Navigation System Theory: To steer mariners toward safe waters and away from dangers SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 3

ATONS Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Short range Aids: (Examples? ) • Long Range Aids (Examples? ) SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 4

ATONS Sailing Skills And Seamanship • What are other landmarks helpful to boaters? • Towers, stacks, steeples, points of land, islands, buildings, cupolas, hills, etc. Anything on a chart that can be identified on land can be used to navigate your boat SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 5

Buoyage System Sailing Skills And Seamanship • How are ATONS grouped in this system? • Lateral marks show sides of channels and passages • Cardinal marks show direction of dangers SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 6

U. S. ATON System Sailing Skills And Seamanship • What are the six types? • • • Lateral marks Safe Water marks Isolated Danger marks (Cardinal) Range marks Regulatory marks Special marks SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 7

Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW) Sailing Skills And Seamanship • AKA “The Ditch” • Runs from Norfolk VA to Miami FL • Combination of rivers, canals, sounds, land-cuts, and harbor channels • Enables navigation without going “outside” into the Atlantic Ocean SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 8

Western Rivers Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Location: Mississippi River and associated waterways, plus Red River and tributaries • Maintenance: USCG maintains aids, Corps of Engineers maintains waterways SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 9

Uniform State Waterway Marking System Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Merged with US ATON system SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 10

Waterway Marks/Buoys Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Characteristics Reprinted with permission from The Weekend Navigator by Bob Sweet SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 11

Waterway Marks / Pillar Buoys Sailing Skills And Seamanship SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 12

Waterway Marks / Spherical Buoy Sailing Skills And Seamanship SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 13

Waterway Marks/Nun & Can Buoy Sailing Skills And Seamanship SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 14

Waterway Marks: Cautions! Sailing Skills And Seamanship • • A floating aid rotates in a “watch circle” Watch for note: “PA” (position approximate) Lights and acoustics may fail Aids may be off station, damaged, missing, sunk, or obscured SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 15

Waterway Marks/Day Beacons Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Daymarks or day beacons SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 16

Waterway Marks Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Triangular Daymark • Square Daymark SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 17

Waterway Marks Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Diamond shaped day marks SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 18

Waterway Marks Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Light structures • Major lights • Minor lights SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 19

Waterway Marks Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Informational and Regulatory Marks • Describe SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 20

Waterway Marks Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Special purpose • Yellow, may have yellow/amber light • Mark special areas or situations: • Military exercise areas • Anchorage areas • Temporary construction/wreck sites • Fish net and water intake areas SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 21

How Waterways are Marked Sailing Skills And Seamanship • “RED RIGHT RETURNING” • Keep red marks to starboard when returning from sea SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 22

Waterway Marks Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Red, Right, Returning • Return from sea • Clockwise around U. S. • Numbers: • Evens to starboard • Odds to port SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 23

Waterway Marks Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Lighted marks • • Red marks have red lights Green marks have green lights Safe water marks have white lights Special marks have yellow lights SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 24

Waterway Marks Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Numbers on Lateral Markers • • Are sequential, increasing as you enter from sea Red marks have even numbers Green marks have odd numbers Safe water marks may be lettered SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 25

Waterway Marks Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Regulatory Markers • Signs • Buoys and SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 26

Waterway Marks Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Safe Water Aids • Characteristics and symbols SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 27

Waterway Marks Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Preferred Channel mark or bifurcation buoy • Shows the deepest of two channels • Shape and color indicate use SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 28

Waterway Marks Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Range • • Two ATONs in line Rear higher than front Lined up with channel May be lighted SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 29

Waterway Marks Sailing Skills And Seamanship • ICW • Yellow triangles on “red” marks • Yellow squares on “green” marks SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 30

Light Characteristics Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Patterns SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 31

Light Characteristics Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Preferred channel lights • Red or green, depending on color of aid • Light characteristic is composite group occulting • “Oc (2+1)” on chart SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 32

Chart Symbols Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Fixed structure lights • Symbols for buoys • Symbols for day marks SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 33

Light Structures Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Lighted aid to navigation fixed to earth • Light houses • Mark major points of land, pierheads, harbor entrances • Permanent structure • May have sound signal SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 34

Lights on Bridges Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Do not conform to buoyage system • Drawbridge: red lights indicate a drawbridge is closed, green—open • Fixed brdges: red lights indicate sides of channel, white light shows center of draw SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 35

Electronic ATONS Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Characteristics • Loran C is dead • Loran C lines on charts should be ignored • GPS—another class! SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 36

Navigation Publications Sailing Skills And Seamanship • Local Notice to Mariners • Published by US Coast Guard via email • Points out local discrepancies, marine events, general marine information for area • Chart No. 1 shows all chart symbols • Light List—position and characteristics of lighted aids • Coast Pilots—Text description of coastlines, harbors, marine facilities, etc. SSSppt. Chpt 07 Highwaysigns 040609. ppt 37