Easy way to avoid those lobster pots

Ahoy.

Once again, it’s lobster season and scores of floating buoys are

tethered to the lobster pots lining up seaward from both of Newport’s

jetties tips.

Boaters should travel this area with caution and watch out for the

lobster pot buoys just seaward of Newport’s line of demarcation. You

want to avoid entangling the buoys’ lines around your keel, running

gear or wrapping the lines in your props. You can clear the buoys by

maintaining a straight course between the jetty entrance and the

midchannel marker.

Let me explain the line of demarcation and the proper approach and

departure from Newport Harbor. Most people are familiar with the

floating bell buoy in the ocean where sea lions haul out just outside

the jetties. This buoy was once labeled as Buoy No. 1 and painted

green (originally painted black) as prescribed by the lateral system

of buoyage for all odd-numbered can buoys. A few years ago, to aid

vessels with the harbor approach, the bell buoy was changed to a

midchannel buoy and, as such, painted red and white -- vertically

striped with a white light flashing Morse code alfa (* --). Thus, a

boater is to pass close on either side of this buoy when entering or

exiting the harbor entrance.

The inland-international line of demarcation is an imaginary line

drawn between both channel markers located on the tips of the West

and East jetties. Green marker No. 3 is positioned on the West Jetty

with a green flashing light and the East Jetty has red marker No. 4

with a red flashing light.

The proper outbound vessel course is to traverse the channel

between the rock jetties with the vessel, keeping its starboard side

nearest the West Jetty, and once you pass marker No. 3 to continue

seaward, passing the mid-channel marker off your portside before

changing course. Just as when you are approaching the entrance, you

should line up passing the midchannel marker to your port side and

marker No. 4 off your starboard side.

By following this prescribed approach, you should miss the lobster

pots, but remember the pots will drift from time to time.

If you are inside the line of demarcation, then the inland

navigation rules apply and there is a 5 mph speed limit. A few

definitions comprise the harbor’s speed limit with the foremost rules

being that vessels are not to exceed 5 mph (4.35 knots) or not to

create a wake. The main purpose is to keep vessels from creating a

wake that will damage dock structures and cause erosion and to

maintain a safe navigation speed.

One exception in is steerage, and vessels are allowed to exceed

the 5 mph speed restriction for safety. I have two examples to help

understand steerage, and the first example would be trying to

navigate during a storm. If the storm winds are blowing 50 knots in

addition to a strong current, then your vessel might be overpowered

by the present conditions. In this scenario, the skipper may increase

speed to maintain course to keep the vessel off the beach.

The second example is, most of you probably remember the Back Bay

dredging and the large tug pushing the loaded barge through the

harbor. The tug operator increased speed many times to counteract the

effects from the tidal currents and wind in the harbor so that he

could maintain steering control in the confined channels.

The steerage rule is not a free pass to speed in the harbor, and a

prudent skipper will seek the nearest safe refuge when the conditions

are unsafe.

* * *

Question of the week: How is a boater supposed to pass Newport’s

channel marker No. 8 when inbound? This is the marker directly out

from the harbormaster’s office, between the two mooring areas, where

the channel narrows like an hour glass.

I keep receiving reader requests for my cruising stories and next

week I will have a few. On my schedule, I am conducting a training

session for a new yacht owner in San Diego and delivering two yachts

to Ensenada, Mexico, from Newport Beach and Marina Del Rey.

Safe voyages.

* MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating and harbor columnist.

Send him your harbor and marine-related thoughts and story

suggestions via e-mail to Mike@BoathouseTV.com or BoathouseTV.com.