The Punta Gorda herald., 1908-12-31
FUGITIVE SPRB BUOYS
RssouinO These STRAY Sticks"
Is PerlIous Nork.
s!aNBoARDs OFl CHANNELS.

| How These MarlnefC euioes are An
ohored and Howl They somet;mel
Break Away and Are Hunted Dowr
BY the Lishthoussl Service Tenders.
When the winter eoles'begin 10 blow
the tenders OF the lighthouse serxlcs
turn their stems toward northern Siei
TO hunt stray spar buoys. OF all tl
work OF the coast patrol this, perhaps
Is the most exposed to danger, Pulling
these "slgnboards" out OF the sea OF
putting them over side Ia like "yank'
ing" spiley with ton derrick on a
heavlng platform.
Although passengers In the boats
that ply the waters OF New York har-
Dor, Long Island sound and other wa
torways along the coast see many
spar buoys, they give them little
thought With the man at the wheel
II is different. Color. shape and size
give him volumes OF Information, and
no looks upon the spar buoy as an In
valuable guide.
In the government Inventories they
are listed as Sticks" although they
arc sometimes sixty feet long. They
are anchored In the bed OF river or
harbor channel, their ''up ends" paint
cd IN such a way as to Indicate to the
observer the formation Of the bottom.
On the margin Of government charts
explanatory notes tell one tnat vessels
approaching harbor from the sea
should leave red buoys with even
numbers on the right and black, with
odd numbers ON the left sidaagf chan
nels. Black and white ,sti buoys,
the stripes running PERI lcularly,
mean an obstruction In tu6 channel.
with room to get by on either side.
III 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
SO fixed they never could get away, but
they do, and 1t Is Job to find them.
Ice foes break thelf cables and some
times crush the sticks; storms pull
them loose, and ships IN the fog or
darkness foul them and tear them from
their hold on the bottom. Not infre-
quently ships use them as moorings,
although this Is forbidden.
There are instances where the an
chors Of a spar buoy have been secure
enough TO hold against ice pressure and
In narrow channel cause dangerous
jam. But such cases are few, for
when this happens the weight Of the
Ice usually becomes so great as to force
the buoy under, and the pack slides on.
II the Zee pack gets under the buoy
so as to lift Il there 10 only one result
the parting OF the cable. Then OFF
starts the spar upon journey maybe
OF thousands Of miles, perhaps Of only
one or two. 1t may fetch up on the
nearest shore, and II may drift to the
coast OF Europe or into the southern
neas. On the Irish coast today is one
lch Travelled there in six weeks from
York harbor. II was presented
British government by the Unit
ates and now floats of the coast
hich II stopped after It's long At
&journey.
~ a long chase to find the stray
Ks if|is even a more difficult task 10
byer ne anchors left behind by the
itIvc Mars. Tenders that sail out
"a har)>or have a derrick and tackle
ed ID frpnt Of the pilot house. with
3 donkey calglne to lift and pun. The
IocalIon oE every buoy Is marked on
TIE charts % a degree, so It Is not diff
cult 10 dn& the desired position. The
serious br3ness Is dragging for the
anchor asI6 after grappllng with It to
hoist 1t nbHlrd ship. Here the donkey
engine cou3fs into play Another haz-
ard Is to OH a spar buoy aboard. II a
sea happoIzs to be running the captain
Df the teHder has to use extreme care.
sbonld n biz roller get under him and |
tighten the lifting chains
elther fbey would give way or the |
weight would come up too fast. the
crew ~ either case being placed In
|eopal6f OF their lives.
But t0e risk these men ran Is all In
ne daY|s work. TO them Job In a
,eawaT{o lee shore is regarded as
10 moro monotonous task than rcpaint-
ng roF Of buoys on land. New York