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SportsBoat_F4A14.book Page 19 Monday, May 17, 2021 1:01 PM

Safety information

Other special situations bers, and lights to show which side of the
There are three other rules you should be buoy a boater should pass on when navigat-
aware of when operating your boat around ing in a particular direction. The markings on
other vessels. these buoys are oriented from the perspec-
Narrow channels and bends tive of being entered from seaward (the boat-
When navigating in narrow channels, you er is going towards the harbor). Red buoys
should keep to the right when it is safe and are passed on your starboard (right) side
practical to do so. If the operator of a power- when proceeding from open water into port,
driven vessel is preparing to go around a and black buoys are to your port (left) side. An
bend that may obstruct the view of other wa- easy way to remember the meaning of the
ter vessels, the operator should sound a pro- colors is the phrase “red right returning.”
longed blast of four to six seconds on the When navigating out of the harbor, your posi-
horn. If another vessel is around the bend, it tion with respect to the buoys should be re-
too should sound the horn. Even if no reply is versed; red buoys should be to port and
heard, however, the vessel should still pro- black buoys to starboard.
ceed around the bend with caution. Many bodies of water used by boaters are
Fishing vessel right-of-way entirely within the boundaries of a particular
All vessels fishing with nets, lines, or trawls state. The Uniform State Waterway Marking
are considered to be “fishing vessels” under System has been devised for these waters.
the International Rules. Vessels with trolling
lines are not considered fishing vessels. Fish-
ing vessels have the right-of-way regardless
of position. Fishing vessels cannot, however,
impede the passage of other vessels in nar-
row channels.
Sailing vessel right-of-way
Sailing vessels should normally be given the
right-of-way. The exceptions to this are:
(1) When the sailing vessel is overtaking the
power-driven vessel, the power-driven
vessel has the right-of-way.
(2) Sailing vessels should keep clear of any
fishing vessel.
(3) In a narrow channel, a sailing vessel
should not hamper the safe passage of a
power-driven vessel that can navigate
only in such a channel.
Reading buoys and other markers
The waters of the United States are marked
for safe navigation by the lateral system of
buoyage. Simply put, buoys and markers
have an arrangement of shapes, colors, num-

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