Basic Rules of the Road
Uniform State Regulatory Markers
USWMS regulatory markers are white with international orange geometric shapes; you must obey regulatory markers.
UNIFORM STATE WATERWAY MARKING SYSTEM (USWMS)
CONTROLLED | DANGER | BOATS | INFORMATION |
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| KEEP OUT |
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DO NOT PASS | SPECIAL | NAVIGATE TO | NAVIGATE TO | |||||||||
BETWEEN SHORE | PURPOSE | STARBOARD | PORT FACING | |||||||||
AND BUOY |
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| FACING UPSTREAM | UPSTREAM | ||||||||
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NAVIGATE TO | NAVIGATE TO | |
SOUTH OR WEST | NORTH OR EAST |
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Uniform State Waterway Marking System (USWMS)
FWMS System
The FWMS Lateral System is for use on navigable waters except Western Rivers and Intercoastal Waterways.
The markings on these buoys are oriented from the perspective of being entered from seaward (the boater is going toward the port). This means that red buoys are passed on the starboard (right) side of the vessel when proceeding from open water into port, and green buoys to the port (left) side.
The right side (starboard) of the channel is marked with RED, even numbered buoys. The left (port) side of the channel is marked with GREEN, odd numbered buoys.