So how does it work? Does the US do the opposite? Even in this foreign land of Western Australia, we have red on port & greens on starboard as you enter a harbour / river, same as over east.

But I have always heard that the US does the opposite? Not all agree??

I did see this on a recent trip to Hawaia, I'll see if I can find a photo.

So throw up your own personal opinions & experinces - But NO generic google search or refercnes

Poods

The Americas, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines use IALA (International Association of marine aids to navigation and Lighthouse Authorities) type B, the rest like us uses Type A.

Type A was introduce in 1977 with the rules for type B being completed in 1980.

It's a wonder that it took so long to come up with these systems and what a head ache it must have been before, with over 60 different systems world wide.

We visited San Francisco last year and sailed the harbour (which has this incredable tide) with a group , I ask why the difference in system and the skipper believed it came from the americian revolution, they would reverse the buoy's to confuse the British and they never put them back, it's a good story anyway!!

how about the current going out the bay! I saw one of the buoy's laying on it's side with the force, no wonder you couldn't get off Alcatraz!!

Toph said...
What about the nav lights on the vessels themselves? Are the lights reversed ie port side green and starboard red?

No I think the vessel has red on port side , it's weird !

Why couldn't " we " ( the world ) at least do something the same, like agree on a consistent marine marker system .

Imagine sailing around the world , .... Hey made it across the pond !!!! .... Oh sh!t on the bricks .

The Great Sandy Strait is buoyed as if entry is from the north. I suspect most boats enter from the south at Inskip Pt and assume that is the entrance.
The only difference in the US and the other countries noted above, that I am aware of, is the port and stbd hand marks are reversed. Boats have the same lighting.

MorningBird said...
The Great Sandy Strait is buoyed as if entry is from the north. I suspect most boats enter from the south at Inskip Pt and assume that is the entrance.

That is correct John. It does not change at the shallowest point just south of South White Cliffs.

The Great Sandy Straits are a magnificent cruising grounds and generally a safer passage than the outside of Fraser Island.

I find the best chart for them is A Guide to Great Sandy Strait by JH McFarlane. If you can't get hold of that the Beacon to Beacon Directory from MSQ is quite excellent too.

AUS 817 has not the detail for navigating the Straits and AUS 241 only covers the northern end.

I have transited the Straits with a 2.2 m (7' 2") draught which only required an anchored up wait of about 4 hours until sufficient tide on that particular day.

One place to take care is at the transit markers near Snout Point. Read them wrong, particularly heading south, and you will go up a dead end gutter as I did.