If you are using your boat’s down time to think about new places in and around Narragansett Bay to visit next summer, it might be time to get out the chart, or open up Open CPN on your computer. Look at the lower bay and Rhode Island Sound and you will see some strange passageways.

Look over at the purple rectangle. This marks a traffic separation zone. It is kind of like a divided highway. On either side of the purple area you can see traffic lanes which denote the path that commercial vessels take into the bay, one inbound and the other outbound. It is a traffic pattern to prevent collisions of large ships.

How does this affect you? It tells you that you need to be extra careful in this area. This is where there is more of a concentration of tugs with barges, and cargo ships etc. Interesting to watch in the daylight, but what if you are traversing this area at night? Then you need to know your lights. You don’t want to see a tug go by and decide to pass astern of it, only to find it was towing a big barge! Years ago an 18-foot open speed boat did just that and the tug’s tow line sliced off his center console! Don’t let this happen to you.

The lighting on the tug will warn you if there is more coming behind it.  Also, how far behind the tug is the barge? The lights will tell you this also.

If the approaching tug shows two white lights – one over the other –the tug is towing a barge less than 600 feet behind it. If the barge is being towed more than 600 feet behind it, the tug will show three white lights above one another.  You can actually fish in the Traffic Separation Scheme, but you may never impede the progress of a commercial vessel traveling in the lanes.  Extending from southwest of Watch Hill to the TSS (Traffic Separation Scheme) is the green zone and there is another green zone just north of the TSS. Deep draft and commercial vessels not in the TSS are requested to stay in the green lanes.  One leads west for those going to and from New York and another goes east for large ships heading to and from Boston. The green paths going north are for those bound for Providence. With these paths, you know where to expect commercial traffic to be.

In addition to a tug with a tow, there are other lights you will see more commonly anywhere in the bay. These also give you needed information. At night or in a fog, lights are your clues for knowing what you are dealing with.

Every vessel under power MUST show a white light forward. Sailboats with their engines going, even if their sails are up, are under powerboat rules. If they are under sail only, they must NOT show a forward white light. It is important to make sure your lights are placed correctly, working, and not blocked by a dinghy, radar, etc.

Does all this seem like a lot to remember? Your solution is to take a safe boating class. There is an 8-week class starting in Warwick on March 14. All the specifics are on Northstarflotilla.com and you can sign up there. What better Christmas present to give your family than the gift of Safe Boating!

Trivia Question: Cumulonimbus clouds are also called__________. For the answer and more information, go to northstarflotilla.com.