[Bizer]

Originally Posted by jazzman

I came across a black and white marker the other day that was very confusing... It's located about 500 feet SE of Treasure Island. ...

Originally Posted by LakeSnake

The two color system has its limitations. In some cases the MP have to make a judgement call as to what works best for the most common traveled paths.

Just think of the alternative; if it was a red marker then when traveling North/South you would need to stay west of the marker - basically be heading directly for the island. ...

To expound upon LakeSnake's response: With the NH buoy system, there are two "Zones of Ambiguity" (as Bizer calls them): southeast and northwest. In this case, the hazard is northwest of the buoy so boaters should stay south and/or east of this buoy. The ambiguity is: Should the buoy be red (so that one passes to the south) or black (so that one passes to the east). The other ambiguity zone arises when the safe route is northwest of a buoy. So, if the buoy is southeast of the hazard (as in this case) or northwest of the hazard, look at the chart. In this case, boaters should stay southeast of this buoy.

There are other buoys that lie in a zone of ambiguity: southeast of Ragged Island; southeast of Pig Island; northwest of Ayers Point; southeast of Whortleberry Island; Light #1. A good rule-of-thumb: If there is a lone buoy near land, the hazard usually lies between the buoy and the nearest shore.

Another thing to consider: the area south and east of this buoy is white on Bizer's chart signifying a depth in excess of six feet. On Bizer's chart, it is safe to boat in places where the water color is white. Bizer offers a cash reward to anyone who can find a shallow area (less than six feet deep at normal lake levels) that is not marked in blue. In 19 years, only three people have found such errors. All three boaters were rewarded with $250 for making Bizer's chart more accurate.

And one last item on this particular buoy: It is primarily for the M/S Mount Washington. Most of the area between this buoy and Treasure Island is deep enough for most boats, but not deep enough for the M/S Mount Washington.

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

The red marker is FL24 which doesn't look real red compared with the numbers 24.The suggested route is clearly shown with the dashed lines going between FL24 and the black spar.

As per the Nautical Chart Manual, lighted buoys are a magenta symbol regardless of the light's color. In this case, the light's color is white. The number "24" is red because the companion spar buoy is red.