Aids to Navigation and Lights

 Aids to Navigation and Lights are a vital safety features of our waterways

Light houses and sector lights have played a significant role in highlighting dangers and guiding seafarers out of harms way but their significance has been reduced with a resident lighthouse keeper being almost a thing of the past. However the lights shining in the darkness will remain for the foreseeable future a guide to a safe passage past dangerous pitfalls.

Navigation aids such as cardinal marks, isolated danger marks, port and starboard channel marks have an uncertain future especially with the widespread introduction and acceptance of the AIS (automatic identification system) technology and modern digital charts.

Even today Australia has virtual AIS cardinal marks which do not exist in our real world and only appear on AIS and Radar systems and as virtual buoys on our charts. Yes, there are Cardinal Marks indicating dangers in a position and safe passage opposite. They have distinctive black top marks and at night, the south mark flashes a quick white light 6 times followed by a long flash every 10 seconds such as the South Cardinal Mark off Acheron Reef here in Batemans Bay.

But what of virtual South Cardinal Marks? Do they exist and do they flash at night. No, you will not see one from your boat – day or night. They only show on your AIS system or chart plotter. Just take a look on your system such as Navionics at the Five Islands group off the outer harbour of Part Kembla and you will see two virtual cardinal marks. How do you know? They have a pink circle around them and are transmitted from a shore station. I can tell you they don't flash a light at night neither do you need to worry about crashing into then in the day or night.

So what of aids to navigation in the Clyde River channel here at Batemans Bay.

We all know the red channel mark at the end of the rock-wall which guides us past that danger as we enter the bay river at night. The next red beacon (a pole with light) is along the rock-wall at the entrance to the regional boat ramp at Hanging Rock and opposite it at the channels edge is a green starboard buoy.

Further upstream is the next red channel mark at the entrance to the marina and there on the opposite wall is an equivalent green mark indicating a safe entrance to this facility.

Why is there no similar green mark at the entrance to the regional boat ramp you may well ask? Well it takes time to motivate the powers that be to place this vital safety feature in position. In 2015 the Association requested this light and the two Cardinal Mark at Acherton Reef. Only after a vessel was damaged while traversing the area did we get some action and the cardinal marks were placed but the entrance light was never placed on the to-do list.

Good news the Euro Fishing & Boating Network has, as one of its important short term goals, to reactivate this safety issue and the Association has been informed that both the local Boating Safety Officer and the Regional Operations Manager have committed to push this issue along as fast as they are able. That is very good news along with the acceptance that this network is able to raise and have safety issues considered.

We look forward to the same communication taking place between the Council, MIDO and Transport for NSW.