Remember, marks on the sides of channels have numbers and marks within channels have letters. Color bands on a preferred channel mark help you know which is the main or preferred channel . When the top band is red, treat it as a red mark in order to stay in the preferred channel. If the preferred channel mark is a can buoy, its top color band will always be green. And these color cues tell you which side of the boat to keep these markers on when you are returning from sea.
Ranges are pairs of atons.
When you see them in line, your vessel is in the center of a navigable channel. If you veer to the left of the channel's center, the forward mark appears to the right of the rear one. Range marks often have red, green, or white lights to serve as guides at night. About the author . . . Jack Justice is a life-long northern Ohio resident, an avid boater, sport fisherman, active US Coast Guard Auxiliary member, and recently retired Supervisor Maintenance of Way for Lake Terminal Railroad in Lorain, Ohio.