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Old 28-07-2014, 08:26   #1
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Strange Marker in the Med

Recently while delivering a Wauquiez Centurion from Corfu Greece to Lymington England, I was on the late watch out of Mallorca Spain headed for Gibraltar and after dodging a couple of Fish Farm pens, I saw a wierd marker.
I don't have any pictures, but it was basically a pole about 2 meters high, with three rapid flashing red strobes, topped by two rapid flashing Green strobes.

Being somewhat confused, I called the owner/capt on deck (holds a RYM and has a lot more experience in these waters) and we observed it for a few minutes, presuming it to be a ship at a distance...after about 10 minutes we realized it was a marker buoy of some sort, and passed it within about 10 yards!

Has anybody ever seen one of these? It was a very strange marker, and both of us were mystified about who would do this (Although fishermen around southern Spain are everywhere, this was the only one like it that we saw.)

So your guess is as good as mine, but was just curious as to any good theories about this mark with COMPLETELY non standard lights, in the middle of essentially nowhere...
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Old 28-07-2014, 08:43   #2
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Re: Strange Marker in the Med

I have seen somewhat of the same in the northwest of the US.. flashing lights on a pole..
Was told they were on "long lines" for either crab pots or fishing marking one end or the other of the line.. the lines could be miles long..
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Old 28-07-2014, 09:23   #3
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Re: Strange Marker in the Med

Yes! That marker means "If you were ten yards closer you would have hit me!"
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Old 28-07-2014, 09:43   #4
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Re: Strange Marker in the Med

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Yes! That marker means "If you were ten yards closer you would have hit me!"

HA! Yeah I actually altered course when we realized it was just a marker, would have been further abeam if we had realized it earlier...

It's amazing how you can be lined up on something that small in that large of a body of water.

We actually heard on the VHF, the night before, a sailboat, (S/V Luna) calling a fisherman because he had hit a line and was tangled up in his gear... all at about 0200 ... Big suck, no doubt.
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Old 28-07-2014, 10:52   #5
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Re: Strange Marker in the Med

Yeah, thats for fishing, wacht out! hahaha
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Old 28-07-2014, 21:41   #6
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Re: Strange Marker in the Med

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sanman60 View Post
Recently while delivering a Wauquiez Centurion from Corfu Greece to Lymington England, I was on the late watch out of Mallorca Spain headed for Gibraltar and after dodging a couple of Fish Farm pens, I saw a wierd marker.
I don't have any pictures, but it was basically a pole about 2 meters high, with three rapid flashing red strobes, topped by two rapid flashing Green strobes.

Being somewhat confused, I called the owner/capt on deck (holds a RYM and has a lot more experience in these waters) and we observed it for a few minutes, presuming it to be a ship at a distance...after about 10 minutes we realized it was a marker buoy of some sort, and passed it within about 10 yards!

Has anybody ever seen one of these? It was a very strange marker, and both of us were mystified about who would do this (Although fishermen around southern Spain are everywhere, this was the only one like it that we saw.)

So your guess is as good as mine, but was just curious as to any good theories about this mark with COMPLETELY non standard lights, in the middle of essentially nowhere...
Was it fixed or floating? Stacked red and green can be used at channel intersections to indicate the preferred channel. Was it painted?

G-R-G = Preferred channel to starboard
R-G-R = Preferred channel to port

Not sure what a blink sequence would look like...
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Old 29-07-2014, 10:12   #7
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Re: Strange Marker in the Med

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ex-Calif View Post
Was it fixed or floating? Stacked red and green can be used at channel intersections to indicate the preferred channel. Was it painted?

G-R-G = Preferred channel to starboard
R-G-R = Preferred channel to port

Not sure what a blink sequence would look like...
2+1 red or green is the light sequence for bifurcation buoys.




The lights he describes are not IALA System A bifurcation buoys.

I would go with fishing net buoys.
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Old 29-07-2014, 12:44   #8
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Re: Strange Marker in the Med

just saw on the news this morning that a whale watching boat caught a line in the north east and was disabled.. had to be towed in by the costies
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Old 29-07-2014, 16:43   #9
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Re: Strange Marker in the Med

Whenver I see "WTF?" lights, I follow the advice of Monty Python.

RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!

You just never know what's out there.
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