How to Read Markers When Sailing

If you are new to boating or your boating experiences have been limited enjoying small crafts on local streams or small lakes, chances are you may find the navigation of a sailing vessel in areas high in marine traffic somewhat confusing.

1. Look for sailing markers in areas such as bays, large river ways, near costal shore areas and large natural and man-made harbors. Such areas are often made use of by a wide variety of small and large water crafts, and as such will usually have a color coded system of buoys, channel markers and other navigational aides in place to assist those unfamiliar with the location or unfamiliar with marine codes in general to help people get around on the water without mishap. These coded buoys and flags are essential to high traffic areas and act much the same way as a traffic light or a stop sign would along a busy road way.


2. Learn what to look for and where to find it. Markers used for the aid of navigation for seagoing vessels come in a variety of forms. Fixed markers mounted on posts or pilings in the water, floating buoys, fixed markers mounted on land located on the edges of a channel or on a post, sometimes on a tower or prominent natural rock formation or even a tree. The key is to carefully scan your sailing environment as you maneuver your craft in order to not miss a potentially important signal. The primary colors of your basic channel markers will be either red or green. Each marker has not only a designated color; it also has a designated shape. For example, green markers are rectangular in shape whereas red markers are triangular in shape and positioned so that the pointed end of the triangle points up. You may also encounter red or green buoys, also referred to as ‘nuns’ for a red buoy or ‘cans’ a green buoy. Floating buoys are used in order to allow a ship to spot them at a distance. They are also commonly annotated on updated nautical charts. 


3. Reading your red and green markers. A general rule of thumb states that a green marker indicates where the deeper or safer water is. This is particularly important for deep drafted vessels like trading ships or cruise ships. Following your green markers can help prevent being run aground which is the number one danger for marine vessels. Red markers indicate shallow waters or potential trouble spots. Along a straightforward channel, red markers will be placed all along one side of the waterway with green markers placed along the other side. This lets mariners know that they are in a potential trouble spot and indicates which way they ought to guide their vessel. In a simple, straight channel the captain usually just steers down the middle of the channel, keeping his ship between the markers on either side. The phrase "red-right-returning" is a commonly used reminder to note of which side of your boat a particular color marker should be kept based on where you are headed. The phrase is warning sailors to keep the red markers to their right side when they are returning from the sea and entering the channel. Any time you are transitioning from a larger body of water into a smaller body of water like entering a harbor from an open sound, you want to keep the red markers to the right side of your vessel as you pass them. Of course, the reverse is true if you are leaving a smaller area of water for a larger. Then, you want the red markers to be on your left as you leave with the green markers to your right.