Question 85 Deck General

The correct answer is B) Red buoys should be passed down your starboard side. This is correct because the United States Aids to Navigation System follows the standard "red right returning" rule, which means that when returning from the open sea, the red buoys should be kept to the vessel's right (starboard) side. When transiting from the Straits of Mackinac to Chicago through Lake Michigan, the vessel is considered to be "returning" from the open water of the Great Lakes, so the red buoys should be passed down the starboard side. The other answer choices are incorrect: A) Green buoys do not mark the location of wrecks or obstructions. Green buoys typically mark the preferred channel or side of the channel to be followed. C) Aids to navigation in the United States are maintained solely by the U.S. Coast Guard, not jointly with the Canadian Coast Guard. D) While some aids to navigation are numbered, the convention is that red buoys bear odd numbers and green buoys bear even numbers, not the other way around.