A daymark is a
navigational aid
A navigational aid (NAVAID), also known as aid to navigation (ATON), is any sort of signal, markers or guidance equipment which aids the traveler in navigation, usually nautical or aviation travel. Common types of such aids include lighthouses, ...
for
sailor
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...
s and
pilots, distinctively marked to maximize its
visibility
In meteorology, visibility is the measure of the distance at which an object or light can be clearly discerned. It depends on the Transparency and translucency, transparency of the surrounding air and as such, it is unchanging no matter the amb ...
in
daylight
Daylight is the combination of all direct and indirect sunlight during the daytime. This includes direct sunlight, diffuse sky radiation, and (often) both of these reflected by Earth and terrestrial objects, like landforms and buildings. Sunlig ...
.
The word is also used in a more specific, technical sense to refer to a
signboard or
daytime
Daytime or day as observed on Earth is the period of the day during which a given location experiences Daylight, natural illumination from direct sunlight. Daytime occurs when the Sun appears above the local horizon, that is, anywhere on the ...
identifier that is attached to a
day beacon or other aid to navigation.
In that sense, a daymark conveys to the mariner during daylight hours the same significance as the aid's light or reflector does at night. Standard signboard shapes are square, triangular, and rectangular, while the standard colours are red, green, orange, yellow, and black.
Notable daymarks
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Trinity House Obelisk, UK
*
Kingswear Daymark, UK
*
Tasku beacon tower, Finland
*
Keskiniemi beacon tower, Finland
*
Hiidenniemi beacon tower, Finland
*
Laitakari beacon tower, Finland
*
Herring Tower, Langness, Isle of Man
*
Le Hocq, Jersey
*
La Tour Cârrée
La Tour Cârrée, or The Square Tower, on Jersey, is not a tower but rather is a fortified guardhouse and magazine in the style of a blockhouse with loopholes for musketry. It may have been erected in 1778 on the site of a redoubt. The tower suppor ...
, Jersey
*
Scharhörnbake
The Scharhörnbake was the most important daymark on the German North Sea coast for several centuries. First erected in 1661 by the City of Hamburg on the sandbank Scharhörn and south side of the Elbe estuary, it was rebuilt over centuries and ...
, Germany
Symbols used on US charts
Chart symbols used by the US
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Department, 2013.
See also
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Landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...
*
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Ligh ...
*
Sea mark
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Navigational aids