Archive for September 26, 2012
Navigation – Old School Rules
We seem to be an extremely mobile society. We travel by air, land and sea with regular frequency. There is one common theme for all of these modes of travel. That commonality is aids of travel or in nautical terms, “Aids to Navigation.”
Amazingly, the “Aids to Navigation” Statute we follow now originated in our first US Congress and was signed into law on July 31, 1789. This act was referred to at the time as “Establishment and Support of Lighthouses, Beacons, and Buoys.”
Over 200 years later, we still use this original system. Although, members of our first Congress would probably not be able to recognize how the older version turned into the current rules.
Basically, “Aids to Navigation” can provide a boater with the same type of information drivers get from street signs, stop signals, road barriers, detours and traffic lights. These aids may be anything from lighthouses, to minor lights, day beacons, range lights, and sound signals, to lighted or unlighted buoys.
Each has a purpose and helps in determining location, getting from one place to another or staying out of danger. The goal of the U.S. Aids to navigation System is to promote safe navigation on the waterway.
I have found that most vessel operators would have a hard time navigating through the various signs, buoys and light schemes.
One way to become proficient with these aids would be to take a safety boating class through the Coast Guard Auxiliary or similar agency familiar with these rules.
Most states and local municipalities require some type of safe boating class. These classes can be completed easily over several weeks. And most classes are held in the evenings and weekends.
This is training is easy to complete and will make you a better boater. And might just help you avoid a “bad day on the water”.
Stay tuned, I will provide much more on Aids to Navigation in future blogs.
Until next time, Tightlines
NCsaltaire 