Buoyage principles and sailing directions

The buoyage along the fairway into Sønderho Havn follows international practice as recommended by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities, 1957 (IALA). Guidelines for buoyage in our parts of the world i.e., the North Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat, the inner Danish waters, and the Baltic are indicated with green on thestarboard side and red on the port side when a ship is inward bound. In narrow fiords and entrance to a harbour or road, a ship is also inward bound from the open seas.

Important: The buoyage is changing direction!

Please notice that buoyage in certain Danish waters is changing direction for inward bound navigation. This is in particular the case in the Wadden Sea around Fanø and south of Esbjerg.

Red perches (brooms) on the starboard side

At it appear on the shown chart, you are inward bound when navigating around the southern point of Fanø and approaching Sønderho Havn. Where you are making land via a fairway or a harbour there will often be a red and white approaching buoy. However, at the fairway into Sønderho you will instead be met by a “port”, as it is called, existing of a red and a green perch. When approaching Sønderho Havn at the new fairway you are outward bound and therefore the red perches are on the starboard side.

There are also “ports” where the fairway has narrow passages.

The buoyage is established by Sønderho Havn’s Support Society (Sønderho Havn Støtteforening). The exact positions of the buoys and perches are measured applying compass and taking bearings. The perches are placed on the edges of the fairway. By navigating the fairway, you must keep at least two metres from the perches.

In a straight line parallel to the edge of the fairway between two red perches the society’s aim to keep the same water depth in the fairway.

Buoyage of the fairway up to Sønderho Havn

Walking tours in Sønderho

Sønderho Support Society offer organised walking tours in Sønderho for groups of minimum seven people. The duration of a walk is about one and a half hour, with the main topics on the maritime heritage of the village. Walking tours must be booked at least one week in advance. For booking please contact:

Anders Bjerrum, phone: +45 26 15 41 52, e-mail: anders.bjerrum@fp7consult.dk or

Niels Frederiksen, phone +45 28 26 18 15, e-mail: frederiksen.heinel@gmail.com

Sønderho Havn

– en naturhavn i Nationalpark Vadehavet

Buoyage principles and sailing directions