Special-Purpose Buoys: Anchorage, Cautionary, Swimming, and Mooring

These special-purpose buoys provide additional aids to pleasure craft operators such as:

• Marking anchorage, danger, or swimming areas
• Providing a place to moor a pleasure craft

Anchorage Buoys: An anchorage buoy has a black anchor symbol on a yellow pillar, can, or spar. These buoys mark the edges of designated anchorage areas. Always check the depth of the water before anchoring.

Cautionary Buoys: Cautionary buoys are solid yellow pillars, cans, or spars.

• They mark a danger area such as:
  • Military exercise areas (firing ranges)
  • Locations of underwater structures
  • Race courses
  • Seaplane bases
  • Areas without a safe channel for passage
• For specific information on the danger, consult a chart of the area.

Swimming Buoys: Swimming buoys are white cans. They mark the edges of designated swimming areas.

Mooring Buoys: Mooring buoys are white with an orange horizontal band around the top. They usually are placed in marinas and other areas where pleasure craft are allowed to anchor. Your pleasure craft may be tied up to these buoys.