Cutting Corners.

Much had been written about Navigational Markers and safety at sea. Navigation is a bit more complicated than driving. Knowing right from left or Port (red) from Starboard (green) is a pretty good start and knowing if you are traveling upstream or down is also important. Of course nothing beats also being alert to your surroundings and paying attention to visual cues. Headlands often have submerged rocks at their base. Unexpected ripples and waves are also visual cues. Port and Starboard navigational markers commonly define a navigational channel or 'safe path' and are the most common of navigational 'signage' you'll find in enclosed waters.

One hundred metres from our mooring, a Starboard (green) marker alerts mariners to the presence of a hazard -  a reef protruding from a headland. from that direction we heard a nasty thud. There is a public boat ramp upstream and a Saturday morning procession of recreational vessels was under way. For one skipper and his passengers, the trip came to an early and abrupt halt.

Was the skipper distracted? Ignorant? Cutting a corner? No matter which,  he is now properly informed of the need to pay attention and to heed the guidance of navigational markers!

   

 More examples of channel markers. At night they flash also.

We've been entertained for 24 hours.

Creating plenty of interest.

Boats that usually would race around the corner all slowed to take a better look .... and some photo's.

Even helicopters came in for a better look!,

 Once hip deep water, now only calf deep as the tide ebbs.

 Police Marine Rescue attend and hang about for a while.

 Now high and dry and abandoned.

 Marine Police return the skipper the next day at high tide. 

The boat had re-floated itself.

?? wasting police resources??

Corner Cutter and trusting crew with the Navigation marker now on the correct side.

Post Script: The crew of the boat were rescued by the Tender service from our marina. The Corner Cutter confirmed himself to be a fool and not merely unlucky. He complained during the entire trip ashore that the reef should have been marked and that Marine Rescue didn't come quickly enough! We are not sure what he had in mind.... a solar strobe-lit sign with a picture of a reef and a permanently stationed rescue team? The Police were probably delayed attending to another idiot just like him. What did he imagine a navigational marker is there for other than to provide guidance of a hazard. A responsible skipper will have looked at a chart and acquainted themselves of all hazards before taking responsibility for the lives of passengers (in this instance his family and dog). Epic fail. He had missed the point but not the reef!