Red Right Returning

Red right returning, a basic element of the boating rules of the road that nearly everyone remembers. At least until they get on the water.

Up here in New England, this year’s recreational boating season has concluded. A cold front linked to a storm off Alaska will soon bring in frigid air, and the days are growing shorter. This all makes for an ideal time for boaters to freshen-up on the navigational rules of the road. Twenty minutes each night with the 67th edition of Chapman Piloting and Seamanship and we’ll all be navigational wizards by Spring. In theory, that is.

The fundamental problem with boating rules of the road is that they require a key element often missing – reciprocity. On land, reciprocity comes in the form of one car staying to the right side of the road, while the oncoming car does the same. In a world of reciprocity on the water, you would keep the red buoy to your right as you return to port while an outgoing boat stays to the side of the channel marked by a green buoy. Unfortunately, several factors undermine this ideal state. Let’s face it, some boaters find it just too hard to identify buoys of any color when their five kids are sitting in the front of the boat with their feet hanging over the bow. Others are overcome by distractions – sunscreen that needs to be applied, fishing rods that require rigging, beer coolers that need tending. And sometimes, as when life jackets that need to be stowed in inaccesible lockers, it’s just too hard to stay at the wheel while the boat is underway. And that’s before we’ve even begun to discuss electronics.

Yet before I take you on a rant about other boaters, let me be the first to acknowledge that I need the offseason brush-up as much as anyone. For example, recently I spotted the below depiction of inland markers used in Maine and noticed the yellow marker at the bottom that indicates the presence of Milfoil.

In the quiet of the off-season, I can Google Milfoil, learn that it’s vegitation and know that I will retain this factoid for an annoyingly long period of time (while I forget the really important information that will save me from landing me on the rocks as I approach Newport on a foggy night).

In my heart of hearts I also know that my need for off-season tutelage isn’t limited to some obscure inland channel buoys. Every once in a while I need to remember that when it comes to running lights, that line about red and right doesn’t fit – the red bow light is on the left side – the port side. Port wine is red is one memory tool that can help you out. And when I am down in Florida on the Intracoastal, the green markers will be on the Gulf side of the channel – green on Gulf being the memory tool for that one.

So here I sit, ready to sharpen my knowledge, hastened by the fact all skippers have had their navigational skills tested while at sea. Study I will over the winter months, imaging hours on the water, remembering that the even saltiest of captains have run afoul, in some instances on trips as short as a Three Hour Tour.

by John Urban

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