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 buoyage.
Four cardinal buoys
Four cardinal buoys are used to mark out areas at risk. Around a rock or other reef, they are placed at the 4 cardinal points: North, South, East and West. So a North cardinal will be placed to the North of the danger. You must therefore pass to the north of the buoy to avoid the danger.
Exactly where it should be...
In our situation, the photo clearly shows a north cardinal. The two cones are pointing upwards, and the buoy is black at the top and yellow at the bottom. This means that the sailboat has to be north of the buoy to be out of the danger zone. This is our case, as we're heading south-east on a heading of 130°, with the buoy on our starboard 3/4 bow, and we're in exactly the right place, as shown in the diagram below!
