🔍 Key Concepts

• IALA Region B lateral system used in the United States • ‘Red, Right, Returning’ memory aid and what ‘returning’ means on the west coast • Relationship between the color of a buoy and which side you leave it on when you are proceeding in the conventional direction of buoyage

💭 Think About

• Are you considered to be ‘returning from sea’ or ‘heading out to sea’ when you are steaming southward along the U.S. west coast? Think about the general direction of buoyage there. • If a red buoy is kept on your starboard side in the conventional direction of buoyage, what does that imply about where you should leave it when you are going in the opposite direction? • How does the phrase ‘well clear’ versus ‘close aboard’ relate to safe navigation around aids to navigation in open coastal waters?

✅ Before You Answer

• Confirm how the conventional direction of buoyage runs along the west coast of the U.S. (generally north to south or south to north?). • Verify what ‘Red, Right, Returning’ means specifically in Region B (U.S.): which side are red buoys kept on when entering from seaward? • Check whether the question is asking from the perspective of your actual course (southbound), not the conventional direction of buoyage.