# Red on Right Returning....duhhhh



## richg99 (Sep 28, 2017)

Yesterday a buddy and I went fishing. He asked where the channel was (he was running my boat). I showed him the Green and Red marker buoys, and said "Red on Right Returning". Amazingly, he had not heard that before. 

All was well until we came back up the channel. He was following the Red on Right Returning rule. However, two other boaters, in a large bass boat, were pumping mud out of their 200 hp motor while stuck on a flat. The actual channel ran close to a marina with some larger boats moored in its slips. It was also a No-Wake-Zone. 

How those guys got 100 yards off-line I'll never know. They finally raised the engine and blew mud out about 50 feet and cleared the soft bottom. I doubt that they knew anything about the "rules of the road" on the water. The clearly missed the channel. They had come OUT of the same channel when they left earlier, so they must have gotten lucky and missed the shallowest portion of the flat.

I thought I'd just post a reminder for anyone interested. 

richg99

https://greatlakes.coastguard.dodlive.mil/2014/05/red-right-return-home-alive/


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## DaleH (Sep 28, 2017)

richg99 said:


> How those guys got 100 yards off-line I'll never know ...


I know! Or at least I can guess ...  

Bubba and his buddy were in a FAST boat w/ 200hp and just couldn't be bothered to slow down in the no wake section, so they tried to blow by it well to the outside ... probably like they did EARLIER in the day, like when the tide was higher #-o ?

_Occam's Razor_ - The term Occam's Razor refers to the philosophical idea that for any given set of explanations for an event occurring, it is most likely that _the simplest one is the correct one._


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## richg99 (Sep 28, 2017)

You are mostly right, I am sure. 

However, the TVA system doesn't have tides, though we do get water rising when they open the generators on the dams upstream.

One of the trout streams near me here in TN (The Caney Fork) is below the Center Hill dam. She rises five feet in about an hour or so when they open one or two generators. There is an APP to let you know the schedule, but it isn't always accurate. I usually check out a stump at water's edge and watch it during the time it is in sight. If it is "sinking" I know the river is slowly rising.

richg99


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## stinkfoot (Sep 28, 2017)

Red right returning means returning from the ocean. Otherwise it means when heading upstream or towards the headwaters of whatever body of water you are on the red bouy should be on your right. In my case that means when you have left the boat launch red is on the right. When returning red is on the left. It is not cut and dried.


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## SeaFaring (Sep 28, 2017)

stinkfoot said:


> Red right returning means returning from the ocean. Otherwise it means when heading upstream or towards the headwaters of whatever body of water you are on the red bouy should be on your right. In my case that means when you have left the boat launch red is on the right. When returning red is on the left. It is not cut and dried.



But that’s just a matter of learning to navigate your local waters. Red right returning can also be difficult where channels split (happens all over the Chesapeake at the confluence of creeks and rivers). 

For anyone born after July 1, 1972, Maryland requires a boater’s safety certificate that covers this. The class takes about an hour and is totally worth it. 

People seem to think that you can run a piece of equipment that weighs two tons at 80mph with no brakes without any training or serious thought. It baffles me. 




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## richg99 (Sep 28, 2017)

Yep, it can be confusing. However, in this particular case, my buddy wasn't sure what SIDE of the green buoy he should be on. 

If the red and the green would have been aside each other on the channel, it would have been obvious. But, the first one we came to was a Green, and it appeared to be on the Left side of the channel (heading out). Once he looked ahead for the RED buoy, he could see where the boat had to be. The channel actually hugged the Left side at that point. 

As it said in the article, the NUMBERS on the buoy also signify whether you are coming AWAY from the "sea" (in this case, the TVA River system). Rising numbers mean that you are running away from the "sea".

https://www.schoolofsailing.net/aids-to-navigation.html


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## stinkfoot (Sep 28, 2017)

SeaFaring said:


> stinkfoot said:
> 
> 
> > Red right returning means returning from the ocean. Otherwise it means when heading upstream or towards the headwaters of whatever body of water you are on the red bouy should be on your right. In my case that means when you have left the boat launch red is on the right. When returning red is on the left. It is not cut and dried.
> ...



No it isn't. I am not returning anywhere I am heading out. BC also requires a boating proficiency test. Red right returning is not a helpful adage which is what I was pointing out.


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## Crazyboat (Sep 28, 2017)

Ahh but red on right when returning matters if you are returning from the north or the south too.


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## .Mike (Sep 28, 2017)

richg99 said:


> As it said in the article, the NUMBERS on the buoy also signify whether you are coming AWAY from the "sea" (in this case, the TVA River system). Rising numbers mean that you are running away from the "sea".


I wish that were true around here.

Most of our "fast" travel is on the Wilmington River, running between tidal creeks. The river starts at the Savannah River, and ends in the Atlantic at Wassaw Sound. 17.3 miles total length. The tide pushes up from the ocean, but partially drains upstream into the river. It is strange.

At the sound, there is red marker 20 and green marker 21 . As you approach the Savannah river-- traveling inland from the ocean-- the markers rise in number. At a certain point, numbers start going back down again. At the ocean, red buoys are on the north shore of the river. At some point, they swap, and red markers are on the south shore of the river.

As a new boater, it is a confusing mess. Nobody out there seems to know exactly where to go. Every time we go out, I kind of hope we get pulled over so I can ask some specifics on how to properly navigate the river.

I have taken several online safety courses, and watched a ton of videos. None seem to apply to my experience. The DNR does free safety courses, but they canceled the last one. We plan on going to the next one.


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## LDUBS (Sep 28, 2017)

SeaFaring said:


> [
> 
> For anyone born after July 1, 1972, Maryland requires a boater’s safety certificate that covers this. The class takes about an hour and is totally worth it.
> 
> ...



California is going to implement a boater’s operator card. It will start January 2018 with anyone 20 years or younger then ratchet up in 5 year increments each January after that. I won’t have to worry until 2025 (sheesh). The required course itself appears to be fairly easy and can be completed in one session. Kind of like the on-line defensive driving courses required when someone gets a ticket. 

There are plenty of knuckleheads out there and that is not going to change. But there are also a lot of new boat owners that just don’t know any better. I personally think requiring this boat operator card is a good thing, except that it doesn’t apply to boat rentals, nor does it apply to folks from out of state. There are other exceptions. I’m pretty sure the recreational boating industry was well represented when this was being drafted. 

I'm not a big fan of unnecessary reg's, but making people prove they did a little homework is better than what we have now, which is nothing. 

PS: I always understood the “returning” part of red right returning to mean returning from the sea.


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## richg99 (Sep 28, 2017)

*I always understood the “returning” part of red right returning to mean returning from the sea.

*

Correct. And the #1 and #2 buoys will be at the farthest end of the channel that leads into the harbor....with the numbers getting larger as you proceed in.


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## RiverBottomOutdoors (Sep 29, 2017)

One thing I love about jet drive is that it doesn't matter where the channel is. Is there water? Ok....hammer down then.


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## stinkfoot (Sep 29, 2017)

Yeah that doesn't work so well when you go to sleep at high tide and wake up at low.....


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## richg99 (Sep 29, 2017)

Ha Ha,... we only gave one to three-foot tides in Galveston Bay. I went wade fishing one day, after dropping my anchor onto a mid-bay reef. 

After a few hours, I came back to a boat that was barely floating. Luckily, some guys were able to pull me off, or I would have had to wait for 8 to 12 hours for the next high tide.

richg99


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## Crazyboat (Sep 29, 2017)

RiverBottomOutdoors said:


> One thing I love about jet drive is that it doesn't matter where the channel is. Is there water? Ok....hammer down then.


Don't have a 16 degree dearies or more in murky water, you'll be high and dry in a heartbeat.


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## stinkfoot (Sep 29, 2017)

That's my buddy's Thunderjet. I was camping in my hammock up in the trees. He went to bed floating and woke up high and dry..... :LOL2: Tide came back in and got us off fairly quickly....


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