🔍 Key Concepts

• Aids to Navigation (ATON) markings on the U.S. East Coast • Special Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) symbols and colors • Difference between color/shape of the buoy and symbols painted on it

💭 Think About

• Think about what extra information a yellow symbol adds when it is painted on an otherwise standard lateral buoy • Ask yourself where you typically find yellow triangles or squares on buoys—are they general-purpose special marks, or tied to a specific U.S. waterway system? • Consider whether a single painted symbol is likely to indicate the buoy is off station or a sharp turn, or if those conditions are normally shown in another way (e.g., on charts or by repositioning the buoy)

✅ Before You Answer

• Review how ICW marks are shown on lateral buoys (what color and what shapes are used?) • Confirm what a general special purpose mark looks like under the U.S. Aids to Navigation System (color, shape, and topmark) • Ask: Is a buoy being off station normally marked by a painted symbol, or is this instead a condition reported in Notices to Mariners and charts?