BOATsmart! Canada
Knowledge Base

Fairway buoys are red and white in colour (divided vertically, with one red side and one white side). They will be equipped with either a ball-shaped top mark, or will have a lighted top. 

They should always be kept of the port (left) side of your boat, whether you’re traveling upstream or downstream. 

Fairway buoys are used to mark:

• The entrance to a channel,
• The centre of a shipping channel; or
• A safe route to land