Starved Rock Yacht Club

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“Mariners are urged to use extreme caution while transiting between mile marker 240-241, on the Illinois River. Multiple groundings have taken place near the right descending bank.”

“The Coast Guard has received report of shoaling in the vicinity of the red buoy at mile marker 230.8 on the Illinois river. Mariners are urged to use extreme caution while transiting the area and stay 50 feet away from the red buoy.”

Say what? Where do these warnings come from?

These two announcements are quotes from the January 2015 edition of the “Local Notice to Mariners”, published by the U.S. Coast Guard district office, as a supplement or update to the available navigational charts. The notices are just one of the services offered by the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center. There, you can subscribe to receive regular copies of the Local Notice to Mariners by email.

On the Navcen website, you will also find resources such as:

• Official Coast Guard navigation rules
• A list of VHF radio channels, and what each is used for
• The proper way to send a distress call over the VHF
• A guide to sound signals and aids to navigation

Good to know:

• The two specific hazards mentioned above are near Bull’s Island/Bob’s Beach (mm 240-241) and just below the Starved Rock Lock (mm 230.8).
• If there is too much chatter on VHF channel 68, you can use 69 or 71 in just the same manner. Hail your party on channel 16, then switch to one of the other working non-commercial channels.