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
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...
, 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
Signage is the design or use of signs and symbols to communicate a message. Signage also means signs ''collectively'' or being considered as a group. The term ''signage'' is documented to have been popularized in 1975 to 1980.
Signs are any ki ...
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
A day beacon (sometimes ''daybeacon'') is an unlighted nautical sea mark. A signboard identifying it is called a '' day mark''. Day beacons typically mark channels whose key points are marked by lighted buoys. They may also mark smaller navigab ...
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
*
Trinity House Obelisk
The Trinity House Obelisk, also known as the Trinity House Landmark, is a 19th-century obelisk located at Portland Bill, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. Built as a daymark, it has been Grade II Listed since 1978.
The obelisk was built ...
, UK
*
Kingswear Daymark
Kingswear Daymark (also known as The Tower) is a 24 m (80 ft) octagonal limestone day beacon built in 1864, in an arable field above Froward Point near the town of Kingswear, Devon, England.
Description
The daymark was constructed of local lime ...
, UK
*
Tasku beacon tower
Tasku beacon tower (''Taskun pooki'' in Finnish) is a daymark tower located on the island of Tasku (''Pocket'' in English) in the Raahe archipelago in the Gulf of Bothnia in Finland. The structure was built in 1853 from the plans drawn by Albin ...
, Finland
*
Keskiniemi beacon tower
The Keskiniemi beacon tower (''Keskiniemen tunnusmajakka'' in Finnish), often referred to as the Karvo beacon tower, is a historic daymark located on a promontory of Keskiniemi in the northwestern part of Hailuoto island in the Gulf of Bothnia i ...
, Finland
*
Hiidenniemi beacon tower
Hiidenniemi beacon tower () was a historic daymark tower on the northern coast of Hailuoto island in Gulf of Bothnia in Finland. The structure was located at the northernmost point of the island, a minor promontory named Hiidenniemi.
The struct ...
, Finland
*
Laitakari beacon tower
Laitakari beacon tower is a daymark (navigational aid) located on the island of Laitakari in the Gulf of Bothnia in Finland. The island is located east-northeast of Hailuoto and is within the municipal boundaries of the Oulu, City of Oulu. There ...
, Finland
*
Herring Tower, Langness
The Herring Tower is situated on the Langness Peninsula in the south of the Isle of Man. It was built by Thomas Brine in 1823. The tower was built as a daymark and was based on the style of the tower of Peel Castle
Peel Castle (''Cashtal Phu ...
, 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
*
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
A sea mark, also seamark and navigation mark, is a form of aid to navigation and pilotage that identifies the approximate position of a maritime channel, hazard, or administrative area to allow boats, ships, and seaplanes to navigate safely. ...
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Navigational aids