🔍 Key Concepts

• Preferred channel marks (also called junction buoys) and how they are shown on IALA B system used in the U.S. • The meaning of a buoy having horizontal bands of two colors (red and green). • How mariners know which side is preferred when a channel splits.

💭 Think About

• Think about what is visually different on a preferred channel buoy compared to a regular red or green lateral buoy. • If you were approaching a junction at night or in reduced visibility, what feature of the buoy would reliably tell you which channel is preferred? • Which of these options is directly tied to the idea of a "preferred" side, not just identity or location?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify how red-over-green or green-over-red banding is used on junction buoys in the U.S. lateral system (IALA B). • Confirm which feature of a buoy (color bands, light, number, or position) is specifically defined in the system as indicating the preferred channel. • Make sure you distinguish between what tells you where the buoy is vs. what tells you which channel to favor.