When outdoor swimming, it’s always recommended to have a marker buoy course. Many are there to act as a landmark throughout your course of swimming or to indicate that you are swimming a certain path in that area of water, increasing your overall visibility and safety while in open water.
Marker buoys are able to fulfil these duties thanks to their design. There are different aspects to their design which are worth knowing about as a swimmer and below is a little insight into how effective these buoys are and why you’ll need them when swimming:
The Material of the Marker Buoy
The material is a significant part of the marker buoys. Having PVC marker buoys offer more flexibility since they’re inflatable is much better since you can position them wherever and also durability. The material is to be able to withstand the water and weather elements while also housing a double valve system for quick deflation and handles with straps for anchoring down the buoys.
The Colour of Marker Buoy
Brightly coloured buoys stand out in the blue of the water. Traditionally, buoys are in the colours red and green. Red was used to indicate the area where swimmers and boaters would return from open water, while the green colour signals where you set off.
However, it has been said since that red and green can still get lost or blurred within the hue of the water when it’s dark. A stark orange is much more effective at increasing the visibility of the marker buoy, making it stand out even when the sun has already set.
The Size of the Marker Buoy
An obvious key element in the marker buoy’s design is definitely its size. These buoys should be considerably large so that they can be spotted from even a sky’s view of the water, both in height and in diameter. The cylindrical shape that it holds already helps out its case in height.
Allowing a bigger width will entail even more visibility, so open water swimmers wouldn’t be able to miss it even while they’re in the midst of their course.
The Shape of the Marker Buoy
Marker buoys come in all shapes, cubes, triangles or cones while others are just shaped like circles. However, marker buoy designs that are more cylindrical shaped can be recognised much easier.
Having the marker buoy float vertically and having it stand as tall as it does can make it more easily spotted due to how much contrast in height it provides.
Water buoy markers are handy to have around when you’re practising swimming in the open water due to their design. That intention of visibility can often lead to the safety of the swimmers utilising them.