Every week, we present you with a question about your boating license. Whether you're looking to validate your knowledge or discover new and unexplored areas. This week, we tackle a question on channel marking.
Cone or cylinder?
"Two red stockings, and a green knit", this phrase used as a mnemonic to remember channel markings indicates :
- odd or even number
- "Bottom" and "Tri "edge
- Cylinder or cone ("si" or "cots")
- Red or green
Port buoys have even numbers, are cylindrical in shape and red in color. Opposite, on the starboard side, buoys are odd-numbered, conical in shape and green in color.
Remember that you always enter the harbor from the open sea when deciding which buoys to port or starboard.
However, this mnemonic method for avoiding confusion only works in A zones. However, buoyage is managed by the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). This association has divided the world into 2 zones, A and B. Zone A buoyage is used worldwide, except on :
- the american continent
- west Indies
- japan
- korea
- the Philippines
In the B zones, the color of the markers is reversed. The shapes remain identical, but the conical buoys, to be left to starboard when entering the harbor, will be red. The green ones will be cylindrical.
In our example photo, taken in the West Indies at Saint-Martin, the following buoys were found on either side of the channel:
