need to report a bad marker

S

starcrafttom

Active member
On the way back from the san juans we came across a marker that was way out of postion. As you enter the swimnomish channel from the north end and head south one of the red markers was east of the green marker, on the wrong side of the channel. see here
marker red 22 is east of green 23 by ten yards. So the question is who do I tell. I spent 20 minutes on the coast guard, push one for nothing, merry go round with out much effect. So Who should I call or email????
 
As far as I am aware, you should contact the Coast Guard on the radio (not the telephone), give them a latitude and longitude on the bad marker, and then it's up to them to take care of it. Good luck.
Kent
 
Agree that it is appropiate to report an out of place marker to the Coast Guard. They have an Aid's to Navigation division. These are reported on the VHF radio--as well as other hazards, such as dead heads, nearly sunken boats, etc. (We have heard various boaters reporting such hazards in the last few weeks on regular basis).
 
Tom,

The chart (edition May 05) I just looked at, shows the red 22 on the east side of the channel and the green 23 on the west side.

The general rule is that the red is on the right when returning to port(from the sea) or heading north along the coast.

Those markers as you described them are correct according to the chart and the general rule. Does your chart show them in a different location?

On edit: In looking at the chart some more, I see that the markers change sides, (red for green) at or near the railroad swing bridge or the Twin Bridges. North of there, the red is on the west side of the channel, and south of there the red is on the east side of the channel.

So someone at NOAA must have decided that the Twin Bridges Marina is the 'port' that the 'red, right, returning' rule applies to.
 
Any time you see an aid to navigation out of position, or not watching properly, please call it into the Coast Guard on your VHF. I've done a couple or times, and found it pretty easy. It helps if you have the Light List number, but lat/long will do -

Mac
 
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