Red Sector on chart

[Warren Kaplan]

Next year I'll be doing some sailing in an area that has a "Red Sector" on the chart. Its been many years since I've sailed in waters that has a red sector in it and although I've looked in many reference books, I can't seem to find "the rules" governing a red sector. On the chart the red sector is usually marked by a major light. The arc of the red sector terminates on two broken dotted lines that sometimes run the length of the chart which can be many miles. I realize, if memory serves, that the area covered by the red sector shouldn't be sailed. Can someone give me more definite rules about what a red sector means and how I (we) should proceed when sailing in such an area. Frankly, I'm somewhat confused because the water covered by some of these red sectors looks plenty deep, for pleasure sailboats anyway (maybe not for fully loaded supertankers), and in many of these red sectors I don't see any hazards like rocks or sunken hulks. So, any treatise on red sectors would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Warren Kaplan
S/V Sine Qua Non
CD27



Setsail728@aol.com

[Bob B.]

Warren,
You may want to consult your coast pilot about the area that you will be sailing. In some areas, there is a light with a red sector denoting one of the boundaries of the course to be followed and a green sector marking the other boundary. If you see red light, then you steer accordingly so that you may again center yourself in the channel. The red light is the border of the channel. If you see the green light the same may be true for the other border of the channel (NOAA Chart #1, Jan 1990. pg 65 and 66). Check and see if this may be more applicable to commercial traffic in the area that you intend to travel with regard to depth restrictions. We used to have to thread the needle in some areas with range lights, daymarkers and lights with arcs of restricted visability. The border colors should be marked on your chart of the area.

Sounds like you are in for some good plans.
Happy sailing.

Bob B.

Next year I'll be doing some sailing in an area that has a "Red Sector" on the chart. Its been many years since I've sailed in waters that has a red sector in it and although I've looked in many reference books, I can't seem to find "the rules" governing a red sector. On the chart the red sector is usually marked by a major light. The arc of the red sector terminates on two broken dotted lines that sometimes run the length of the chart which can be many miles. I realize, if memory serves, that the area covered by the red sector shouldn't be sailed. Can someone give me more definite rules about what a red sector means and how I (we) should proceed when sailing in such an area. Frankly, I'm somewhat confused because the water covered by some of these red sectors looks plenty deep, for pleasure sailboats anyway (maybe not for fully loaded supertankers), and in many of these red sectors I don't see any hazards like rocks or sunken hulks. So, any treatise on red sectors would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Warren Kaplan
S/V Sine Qua Non
CD27

BundyR@aol.com

[Bob B.]

Warren,
You may want to consult your coast pilot about the area that you will be sailing. In some areas, there is a light with a red sector denoting one of the boundaries of the course to be followed and a green sector marking the other boundary. If you see red light, then you steer accordingly so that you may again center yourself in the channel. The red light is the border of the channel. If you see the green light the same may be true for the other border of the channel (NOAA Chart #1, Jan 1990. pg 65 and 66). Check and see if this may be more applicable to commercial traffic in the area that you intend to travel with regard to depth restrictions. We used to have to thread the needle in some areas with range lights, daymarkers and lights with arcs of restricted visability. The border colors should be marked on your chart of the area.

Sounds like you are in for some good plans.
Happy sailing.

Bob B.

Next year I'll be doing some sailing in an area that has a "Red Sector" on the chart. Its been many years since I've sailed in waters that has a red sector in it and although I've looked in many reference books, I can't seem to find "the rules" governing a red sector. On the chart the red sector is usually marked by a major light. The arc of the red sector terminates on two broken dotted lines that sometimes run the length of the chart which can be many miles. I realize, if memory serves, that the area covered by the red sector shouldn't be sailed. Can someone give me more definite rules about what a red sector means and how I (we) should proceed when sailing in such an area. Frankly, I'm somewhat confused because the water covered by some of these red sectors looks plenty deep, for pleasure sailboats anyway (maybe not for fully loaded supertankers), and in many of these red sectors I don't see any hazards like rocks or sunken hulks. So, any treatise on red sectors would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Warren Kaplan
S/V Sine Qua Non
CD27

BundyR@aol.com

[john doyle]

Next year I'll be doing some sailing in an area that has a "Red Sector" on the chart. Its been many years since I've sailed in waters that has a red sector in it and although I've looked in many reference books, I can't seem to find "the rules" governing a red sector. On the chart the red sector is usually marked by a major light. The arc of the red sector terminates on two broken dotted lines that sometimes run the length of the chart which can be many miles. I realize, if memory serves, that the area covered by the red sector shouldn't be sailed. Can someone give me more definite rules about what a red sector means and how I (we) should proceed when sailing in such an area. Frankly, I'm somewhat confused because the water covered by some of these red sectors looks plenty deep, for pleasure sailboats anyway (maybe not for fully loaded supertankers), and in many of these red sectors I don't see any hazards like rocks or sunken hulks. So, any treatise on red sectors would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Warren Kaplan
S/V Sine Qua Non
CD27

where is the area & what is the chart number. there may be someone that has that chart & it's easier to talk about something if both people are looking at it.
john



redzeplin@yahoo.com

[Steve Alarcon]

Warren,

Are you refering to the danger zone that some light houses have? When you approach some lights from a direction that have obstructions or the like, the lighthouse will show red when your course puts you at jeopardy. I think Chapmans probably has a pretty good discussion of danger zones.

Steve Alarcon
CD36 Tenacity
Seattle



alarcon3@prodigy.net

[Warren Kaplan]

Warren,

Are you refering to the danger zone that some light houses have? When you approach some lights from a direction that have obstructions or the like, the lighthouse will show red when your course puts you at jeopardy. I think Chapmans probably has a pretty good discussion of danger zones.

Steve Alarcon
CD36 Tenacity
Seattle

Steve,
I think some are that way. Other times I think the lighthouses were built to mark an area of shoaling and the red sector is an arc which should not be sailed...extending out quite a distance. So I don't think a red sector is for an isolated obstruction, like a couple of submerged rocks or a wreck, but more for a wide area of shoaling to safely steer you away from a sector that will put you on the shoal. Try and find a chart with a red sector on it and see how far the dotted lines marking the borders of the red sector extend out from the light.

Warren Kaplan
S/V Sine Qua Non
CD27



Setsail728@aol.com

[Neil Gordon]

There are no particular hazards to navigation that are not noted on the chart. If there's a red sector, it's used to distinguish a safe channel from what might not be safe for some vessels. This is the same as having buoys mark a designated channel... it matters if you are driving an oil tanker vs a sailboat drawing 4 ft. There's no rule that says you have to stay in the channel if you fit outside of it. In fact, outside the channel can be lots safer, particularly if visibility is reduced.

The only caution is to note local conditions such as currents... you don't want to be in a situation where you get set onto the rocks.


Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167



cdory28@aol.com