CARDINAL MARKS

Cardinal marks are based on the points of a compass.  They indicate to water users that there is a danger (rocks, sandbar, shipwreck etc) and which way to navigate safely round it.  

For example, the North cardinal marker indicates, "There is danger south of me, stay on my north side!"

Cardinal marks are recognizable by the 2 black cones at the top and are coloured black and yellow.

	North Cardinal Cones point up, bouy coloured black above yellow.
West Cardinal Cones point towards each other, bouy is yellow with black band.	DANGER!	East Cardinal Cones point away from each other and make an "E" shape, bouy is black with yellow band.
	South Cardinal Cones point down, bouy coloured yellow above black.

LATERAL BUOYS

Lateral buoys indicate port (left hand side) and starboard (right hand side).  The port marker is coloured red, and the starboard marker is green.  They mark safe passage into harbours and on the Solent also mark the commercial shipping channels.

SAFETY FIRST! Keep clear of commercial shipping and large vessels such as ferries, it makes sense to wait for them to pass, they are bigger than us and more than likely unaware that pwc are in their path...also they may be going faster than they appear!

SPECIAL MARKS

Special marks are coloured all yellow, many are racing marks used by yacht clubs etc.  Some are recovered through winter and re-located in the spring.  

As a boat operator you should:

• Be able to recognize a "diver down" flag. It can be either a blue and white "Alpha" flag on the divers’ boat or a red flag with a white diagonal marking floating in the area of the divers.
• Always stay at least 100ft away from a diver down flag.
• Keep a lookout for bubbles breaking the surface of the water. The bubbles indicate that there are divers below who may have strayed from their marked diving area.

	Divers Flag: A rectangular red flag, at least 12 x 12 inches, with a white diagonal stripe is used to indicate the presence of a submerged diver in the area.
	Alfa Flag: A blue and white flag, at least 1 meter high and visible from all directions, displayed on the dive boat.
	SMB: This inflatable buoy is a surface marker buoy (SMB) that indicates that a diver is below.   It is a delayed device launched by the diver when ascending from deeper water (6 metres or more).