Yellow Buoys

[Grehan]

ok, heart in mouth, a simple 'point of information please' question, the like of which has recently (and very unusually may I say) received one or two somewhat rude and dismissive replies of the "don't ask such stupid questions" variety.

Here goes . . .

One encounters, a little way out, large yellow buoys bearing enscriptions such as "Gosport Marina", "Simpson Lawrence", etc and of course they are marked as such on charts.

What are they for? For customers of those esteemed emporiums to tie up to (a bit like Waitrose car park)? Are these temporary tea-break moorings, or overnight jobbies? Do you have to call up on Channel 80 (whatever) to 'book in'?

What? Why? and How?

I await enlightenment with gratitude. Thanks.

 

[PhilipStapleton]

Ah, a Solent yachtie ... They are racing marks, so don't park near them on a Saturday or you'll start a whole new thread on Yachting World's site.

 

[Guest]

They are probably racing marks for those rag and stick jobbies. The names on them are sponsors. Dont tie up to them they are unlikly to be able to hold a kids rubber dinghy let alone a proper stink pot. Information with no insults-wow

 

[zefender]

They are 'special mark' buoys, often appearing seasonally. They are often, but not exclusively, used for races to mark a line/course of some sort, sometimes a contour line etc. Although often marked on a chart, their use in navigation is less formal. They are of course also an advertising opportunity of doubtful ROI!

I await confirmation of this - don't have my books with me!

 

[tony_brighton]

Yellow buoys are 'special marks' in the rule book.
As said the ones you refer to are racing marks. Go a bit further along and there are special marks marking the water-ski lane off Daedalus for example.

 

[Grehan]

a ha
Rrrrracing eh!

How silly of me not to have twigged.
Never seen anyone doing that near the Southsea Marina buoy. Well not sailing anyway.
Were those motorboats roaring past me and it, racing? They didn't seem dressed for racing somehow.

mercy buckets

 

[tcm]

Re: French yellow buoys

...in a line, especially in the med, mean something totally different. They mark off the shore, either because of danger inside, and/or because there's a swimming area inside.

 

[Guest]

As others have suggested, the ones in the Solent are racing marks. Obviously, they are busiest during Cowes week and some get used more than others teh rest of the time.

Apart from that, yachting instructors and examiners use them to test nocturnal navigation. On a Yachtmaster exam, you might be asked to locate one. Not particularly easy in the dark.

The racing marks in the Solent are steel and very hard. Don't hit one in a GRP yacht; the mark will win. You need to be careful to avoid them in the dark.

In general, a yellow mark is a Special Mark, which may be used to mark special areas (like limits of bathing or water skiing areas) or where a buoy is required that is not of navigational significance like a weather buoy, the end of a sewage outfall or a target in a firing range.

Richard

 

[Guest]

....and in Cornwall

There is an interesting pair seasonally placed off the beach in Cawsand Bay. One is conical the other can, but both are yellow and carry the legend "swimming area". My guess is that rowers or o/b potters going ashore from anchored yachts off should treat them as laterals and pass between them when rowing through the swimmers.

 

[Jeremy_W]

"As others have suggested, the ones in the Solent are racing marks. Obviously, they are busiest during Cowes week and some get used more than others teh rest of the time...."

It's theoretically an offence, I understand, to set a racing course around proper navigation buoys. In most yachting areas this isn't a big problem, although there was that becalmed Optimist fleet in Plymouth a few years ago. In the Solent the problem was intense, so these buoys have been laid for the Summer season since at least the mid 70's.

 

[Guest]

Whose theory?

The navigation marks in the Solent certainly are used as race marks as well as using the yellow ones. What legislation says they shouldn't be?

Regards

Richard

 

[Jeremy_W]

I can't remember who wrote that it was an offence. I think it was a contributor to this forum.

 

[jeanette]

I have a confession to make. I was on a CS practical course on a dark night with strict instructions to avoid the unlit yellow marks between Beaulieu and Lymington. You guessed it, we went right through one of them.

Fortunately, it was not made of steel but foam of some description or other. It shook everybody up, not least the instructor!



Jeanette

 

[brian_neale]

Isn't the "don't use nav marks as racing marks" rule something that has been agreed between ABP and the clubs in the Solent? Not sure that there is a law covering it, but it might be a local byelaw (like the Solent moving exclusion zone).

 

[Gordonmc]

Re: ....and in Cornwall

There are couple permanently off Ardeer in the Clyde. Have never investigated or got too close... Ardeer was the home of Nobels explosives!

 

[Mirelle]

Sounds likely. In Harwich Harbour, some navigational buoys are used as racing marks and the courses are laid after discussion with Harwich Harbour Authority.

 

[brianrunyard]

As others have stated, special marks for various things, such as racing marks.
In Poole Bay appart from marking the sewer outlet off Shore Road, Bournemouth Rocks etc.
In the summer there is a line of small yellow buoys that run parallel to the beach, between these buoys and the beach is a 5 knot speed limit to protect swimmers.

Brian
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/brunyard