DSK wrote:
Richard Malcolm wrote:


...My quick question is something like this: if I am crusing about 5-15
miles off shore and see a red bouy, even before I look at the chart,
what should I be thinking?


That there's something wrong with your DR from your last position

A red marker is not going to be 5 miles out unless you're approaching a
really major port.



Which side do I want to pass it on?


Unfortunately, there is no way to tell 'instantly.' Is it a sea channel
bouy? A cardinal mark on a rock or wreck? A weather data bouy?

*If* it is a sea channel marker, at 5 miles out you should be able to pass
it on either side unless your boat draws a LOT or there is some special
circumstance, like the underwater sea wall at Tybee Roads.... the only
thing I can say is, there is no way to tell without reference to your
chart.

I may be missing something here, but not sure I agree fully with the above.
Let's say you're running down (north to south) the Jersey shore in
between inlets, and you come across a red buoy (BG there may be one
along here someplace, if memory serves) .... You would keep that to stbd
as you proceeded southbound.
Now, admittedly, the danger it was marking may be close aboard and leave
you room to pass inshore (draft considerations), but that fact would
only come from checking the chart, so again, heading southerly,
offshore, you see a red buoy, keep it to stbd, along the Atlantic coastline.

otn



Is
there a slogan like the "right on red when returning" that I should be
thinking?


Yes, and as otnmbrd said, "returning" not only means going from sea
towards a harbor, but also counts as going counter-clockwise around the
continent, if you're on the eastern coast of the US.


thanks for your time.
just so you know, I would check the chart first, before I proceeded.


Smart move. Me too!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King