Posted by Andrew Craig-Bennett on November 27, 2002 at 00:24:36 from 195.93.49.13 user ACB.
In Reply to: Re: When did Beach End go green? posted by Jonathan Labaree on November 26, 2002 at 22:39:44:
There are two parts to this, the change in shape and the change in colour.
I will look this up, but I can certainly remember when the buoyage system was black cones to starboard, red cans to port.
That was changed to our present system of red to port, green to starboard, with yellow and black cardinal marks such as Shotley Spit buoy (West cardinal, yellow black yellow, X shaped topmark) when the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities standardised all bouyage across the globe, a great advance, and created IALA Systems "A" and "B" in I think 1981. The European system, which combined the British "lateral" system with the "cardinal" system used in the Baltic and other places, is System "A" and the US system, also found in Japan and the Philippines, is IALA System "B", often remembered as "Red Right Returning" - the lateral marks are the opposite colours.
More annoyingly, Beach End lost its bell about four years ago!
And if you want a Pilot nowadays, you fly G, blue and yellow vertical stripes, and H, white and red divided vertically, when you have got him or her aboard.