The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1908-12-23
FUGITIVE SPAR BUOYS
Rescuing These Stray Sticks"
Is Periious Work.
SIGNB0ARDS OF CHANNELS.
How These Mariners Guides Are An
chored and How They Sometimes
Break Away and Arc Hunted Down
by the Lighthouse Service Tenders.

Break Away and Arc Hunted Down
by the Lighthouse Service Tenders.
When the winter gales begin to blow
the tenders Of the lighthouse service
turn their stems toward northern seas
TO hunt stray spur buoys or all the
work OF the coast patrol this. perhaps,
is the most exposed to danger Pulling
these Sign boar ds oul Of The sea or
putting them oyer side Is like ..yank
ing spiles with ton derrick on
heaving platform
Although passengers Ia the boats
that ply the waters Of New York har-
Dor, Long Island sound and other wa
terways along the coast see many
spar buoys, they give them little
thought With the man a, the wheel
II il different Color, shape and size
give him volumes Of information and
lie looks upon the spar buoy rs an In.
valuable guide
In the government Inventories they
are listed AZ sticks although they
are sometimes sixty feet long. They
arc anchored In the bed VI II river or
harbor channel, their mp ends paint
ed In such way as Ia indicate to the
observer the formation Of tho bottom.
On the margin OF government charts
explanatory notes tell one that vessels
approaching harbor from the sea
should leave red buoys with even
numbers on the right and black, with
odd numbers on the LETT side OF chan
nels. Black aud white striped buoys,
The stripes running perpendicularly
mean an obstruction In the channel.
with room 10 get by on either side.
IL balls or cages ornament the up
ends" II means turning point. the
color and number indicating the course
These sticks are put down with heavy
iron anchors and sometimes great
stone weights. One would suppose that
50 fixed they never could get away. but
they do. aud II IL n Job 10 find them
lee Hoes break their cables and some
times crush the steks< storms pull
them loose, and ships In the fog or
darkness foul them and tear them from
their hold on the bottom. Not tnfre
quently ships Use them ~ mornings.
although this IL forbidden.
There are instances where the an
chors OF spar buoy have been secure
enough TO hold against lee pressure and
In n narrow channel cause dangerous
Jam But such cases are few, for
when this happens the weight OF the
Ice usually becomes 81 great as to force
the buoy under, and the pack slides on.
II the ice pack gcts under the buoy
so as TO HIT II there Is only one result
the parting of the cable Then off
starts the spar upon Journey maybe
Of thousands If miles. perhaps OF only
one or two II may fetch np on the
nearest shore and II may drift Ia The
cast OF Europe or into the southern
sens On the Irish coast today Is uur
which travelled there Ia six weeks from
New York harbor. II WAS presented
to the British government by the INIT
cd States and now floats off the c"ast
on which 1t stopped after its lone At
lantlc Journey.
II II Ia n long chase 10 tnd the stray
huoys Il IL even n more difficult task to
recover the anchors left behind by the
fugitive spars. Tenders that sail out
" tho harhor have derrick ma TICKLE
rugged In front Of the pilot house, with
n donkey engine /" lift and pull The
location OF every buoy IL marked on
the charts IL u degree, SO II Is mol difii
cult TO ind the desired position. The