Cardinal Aids may be in the form of a buoy or fixed aid. They indicate the location of the safest or deepest water by reference to the cardinal points of the compass. There are four cardinal buoys: North, East, South and West. Below are more detailed descriptions of the Cardinal Aids.
North Cardinal Aid
Description:
- The top half of the buoy is black and the lower half is yellow.
- Topmark is two black cones, one above the other, pointing upward.
User’s Guide: A north cardinal aid indicates that the safest water exists to the north.
East Cardinal Aid
Description:
- Black with one horizontal yellow band.
- Topmark is two black cones, one above the other, base to base.
User’s Guide: An east cardinal aid indicates that the safest water exists to the east.
South Cardinal Aid
Description:
- The top half of the buoy is yellow and the lower half is black.
- The topmark is two black cones, one above the other, pointing downward.
User’s Guide: A south cardinal aid indicates that the safest water exists to the south.
West Cardinal Aid
Description:
- Yellow with one black horizontal band
- The topmark is two black cones, one above the other, point to point.
User’s Guide: A west cardinal aid indicates that the safest water exists to the west.
Attribution Statement: Contains information published by the Canadian Coast Guard and Department of Fisheries and Oceans licensed under the Canadian Coast Guard Open Information Licence. This Information is available in its original format for free download on the Canadian Coast Guard website and the Monthly Edition of the Notices to Mariners
