The Coast Guard operates and maintains a national Aids to Navigation System (ATONS) composed of markers, buoys, lights and bells that have explicit shapes and colors to provide navigation guidance to boaters. Navigation information provided by ATONS can include marking the limits of channels, obstructions, and charted locations.
Beacons and Buoys - ATONs are used in conjunction with Marine Charts published by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). With a little practice, you can correctly identify a charted aid by its chart description that shows color, number, location and flashing light sequence. ATONs can be beacons or buoys. Beacons are aids that are fixed to the ground. They can range from lighthouses to daymarkers. Lighted beacons are simply called lights. Unlighted aids are known as daybeacons and bear a clearly visible daymark. Buoys are aids that float and are held in place by anchor systems. Buoys relate navigation information through a combination of reflective markings, lights, flashing lights or sounds. The ATON System provides both lateral and non-lateral information to boaters.
Lateral Aids mark the lateral limits of navigation features like channels and show the area available for safe operation. The color, number, and shape of the ATON provides this information. Markers that you should pass on your starboard (right) side returning from the ocean are red in color, have an even number, and be "nun" shaped. A nun buoy has an angled shape that looks like a cone with its tip cutoff. Daymarkers for the starboard side are red triangles with even numbers. Markers for the port (left) side are colored green, have an odd number, and are "can" shaped. A can buoy has the shape of a straight sided cylinder. Daymarkers for the port side are green squares with odd numbers. A easy way to follow aids is to use the old saying, "Red, Right, Returning from the sea".
Non-Lateral Aids mark hazards to navigation, identify locations, show safe water, announce no-wake zones, and provide hazard information. Mooring buoys are painted white and have a blue strip to avoid confusing them with lateral aids. Nets, cables, anchorages and military use areas can be marked with yellow buoys or beacons.
Safety Tips - There are a few things that boaters can do to improve their safety when working with ATONS.
- Always carry a current, corrected nautical chart. Numbers, bells or flashing light sequences are difficult to decode without a chart
- Approaching an ATON can cause a collision. Beacons are fixed to the ground, which implies a certain lack of water around them. Buoys swing on a chain that provides a certain amount of lateral movement, especially in areas with high tidal ranges
- Never moor to an ATON. It is illegal, can block others from viewing the aid and cause it to move off station
Longtime boaters learn the location and characteristics of the ATONS found in their area of operation. The Coast Guard maintains literally thousands of aids and can't observe everyone of them constantly. If you see an ATON that has moved off station, has been vandalized, is unlit, or even missing, call the Coast Guard or Coast Guard Auxiliary. They really would like to hear about it and you will be contributing to the safety of other boaters in the area.
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