Imagine that the Department of Transportation decided to remove selected road numbers on the basis they are no longer needed because motorists have access to GPS.

One could argue that’s akin to what the US Coast Guard is proposing to do by removing 350 navigational aids from a total of 5,640 – mostly buoys – between New Jersey and Maine on the basis that they no longer serve a useful purpose.

In Narragansett Bay, 32 buoys are considered to be potentially no longer essential. That has some mariners concerned.

While many buoys provide a marine road map, they just as importantly mark rocks and shoals that could be disastrous for boaters. They also serve as visual guideposts, especially to sailors who depend on the wind and cannot always sail a straight line between points and must tack. Additionally, some buoys are lit and have bells, valuable features at night and in fog.

In a release issued last month the Coast Guard says “the current buoy constellation predates global navigation satellite systems, electronic navigation charts and electronic charting systems (ECS), which are widely used by today’s mariners. This long term effort is designed to determine the most sustainable navigational risk reduction tools to support and complement mariners’ ECS and smartphone navigation apps that are more widely available and affordable. Regardless of technological advances, a robust physical aids to navigation network will always complement electronic systems.” 

The Coast Guard envisions the proposed buoy changes as:

• Supporting the navigational needs of the 21st century
• Delivering efficient and economical service to manage vessel transit at an acceptable level of risk 
• Better maintaining the most critical risk reducing buoys 
• Reducing the risk of aids to navigation discrepancies and electronic system failures for those aids most critical to safe navigation  

Recreational and commercial boaters we reached don’t see it that way.

In a letter to USCG First District Commander, George Shuster, who lives on Mill Cove, lists six buoys that he finds helpful in his travels to Edgewood Yacht Club, where he is the past commodore, and to Prudence Island, where he owns property, via his 17-foot Boston Whaler Montauk.

Shuster makes it clear he is not commenting in his capacity as former commodore of the yacht club or as current  president of Save The Bay.

“My boat does not have any electronics; I use cell phone GPS when needed, but mostly navigate by sight both in daylight and at night,” he writes.

Getting into specifics, he cites buoys 13 and 14 approaching Conimicut Light from the east. He writes, “While Conimicut Light itself is sufficient to serve as a mark to round to port on that approach, Conimicut Shoal substantially narrows the approach to the river, and multiple boats are often approaching simultaneously from the west (i.e., Greenwich Bay) and from the south (i.e., the East Passage). Buoys 13 and 14 assist by helping to manage the “funnel” of traffic at that point, which funneling would instead happen at the next set of buoys to the north. I would therefore rate these buoys 13 and 14 as somewhat important but not crucial to my navigation.”

Critical to Warwick marine traffic

A pivotal buoy to West Bay mariners is lighted bell R8,a red buoy that serves as a channel marker between Warwick Neck and Patience Island as well as a reference to the mouth of Greenwich Bay.  Shuster says the mark serves “as a very helpful guide to avoid approaching Patience Island’s northwest point too closely.” Also, he said, it serves “to guide the significant traffic traveling from and to Greenwich Bay from Narragansett Bay.”

Warwick Harbormaster Jeff Baris likewise sees the buoy as critical to navigation. Of all the buoys listed for possible removal in Narragansett Bay, he names R8 as the one most concerning him.

R8 also serves as a guide to quahoggers who keep their boats in Warwick and Apponaug Coves. They are on the Bay early in the day and in all types of weather. Michael McGivney, president of the Rhode Island Shellfisherman’s Association, said the board would discuss the proposed changes next week. He is personally opposed to the removal of the 32 Bay buoys on the basis “it would make the Bay more dangerous to navigate.”

Warwick quahogger Jody King looks at it from another perspective. In a text he said lighthouses are rated for weather on the East Coast,  and Warwick Light, which overlooks R8, is rated third worst for weather, behind Point Judith, which is second.

Dave Monti, who writes “No Fluke,” a weekly fishing column in this and other papers, also cites safety concerns.

“Many of the buoys marked for removal sit at harbor entrances, over ledges and reefs or in otherwise hazardous waters. Some are the only visual or auditory clues available to mariners navigating in low visibility.

“It is a safety issue, as mariners and fishers who rely on electronic navigation are not immune to outages or a lack of a cellular connection, and many feel, including me, that physical aids are essential.  I rely on these buoys to safely navigate home in good weather, bad weather and fog.”

USCG adjusts aids to navigation

The Coast Guard sees the proposal as supporting water safety by “ensuring the right short-range aids work well with modern navigation technology. Public comment about specific buoy use is essential,” says Matthew Stuck, the First Coast Guard District’s chief of waterways management in the release. 

He adds that the 350 buoys proposed for discontinuation represent about 6% of the 5,640 federally maintained aids to navigation. 
 
“We’re actively adjusting short-range aids to work better and more sustainably given today’s navigation tools and methods,” said Stuck. “As part of this effort, the First Coast Guard District has assessed AtoN [aids to navigation] system modernization options over the last two years. Identifying buoys with the highest navigational significance and those providing less navigational value established the baseline to engage the public for feedback on this proposal.” 

Sailor Charles Stoddard of Barrington didn’t shy from offering his feedback.

In a letter to the USCG, he writes, “I think it’s very important that you understand that while many of us have Chart plot GPS units on our vessels, they are often not located at the helm station…. It appears to me that when putting together the list of marks to be removed it was viewed that the captains would be looking at the chart plotters on a regular basis or used them to program their autopilot. This is not practical for sailboats as the wind often dictates where the vessel will go, which is not a straight line from point A to point B.”

Stoddard said that, in looking at the locations on the provided charts, he could see marks that could safely be removed, “but others need to stay to provide safe navigation for the recreational boater.”

He listed those buoys as:

• Patience Island Lighted Bell Buoy 8
• Ohio Ledge Bell Buoy OL
• Providence River Approach Channel Lighted Buoy 14
• Sandy Point Junction Lighted Bell Buoy SP
• East Passage Lighted Buoy 17
• East Passage Lighted Bell Buoy 12
• Goat Island Lighted Bell Buoy 3
• East Passage Bell Buoy 6
• Newton Rock Bell Buoy NR
• Point Judith Bell Buoy 4
• Southwest Ledge Lighted Whistle Buoy 2
• Old Silas Rock Buoy 1
• Sakonnet River Bell Buoy 2A
• Stonington Harbor Approach Buoy 2
• Watch Hill Passage Buoy WH

The Coast Guard is strongly requesting that mariners give feedback before June 13. When providing feedback, include the size and type of your vessel, how you use the buoys to navigate and the distance at which you start looking for and using them. Responses are accepted only by email at D01-SMB-DPWPublicComments@uscg.mil.