Within sight of the Coast Guard base you can get up close and personal to some of the buoys that once helped provide safe navigation along the Maine coast. Buoy Park is a great place to bring the kids, or the kid in you, to explore the buoys. Picnic tables are also available if you want to just sit, eat and enjoy the view.

When it comes to navigational aides, each bouy has a distinct purpose, all the bouys also need maintence which falls on the bouy tenders of the U.S. Coast Guard. My son-in-law who is serving with Coast Gaurd based in Rockland explained to me what each of the bouys purposes are and how they maintain them.

Rockland Bouy Park

The large black buoy is a lighted bell buoy. These black buoys were later replaced with the green ones you now see along the coast. You will also find these off shore as a navigational aid to mariners of all kinds.

The large red buoy is an ice buoy. It is designed specially so it cannot be dragged by the ice. Many of bouys have distinct purposes but they all serve to offer safe navigation along the sometimes unforgiving rocky Maine coast.

These buoys become great places for osprey to build their nests. After the eggs have hatched and the birds have left the nest, the Coast Guard is tasked with removing them.

The Coast Guard maintains these navigational aids, making repairs and replacing parts when necessary.

Take that visit to Buoy Park in Rockland and do some exploring. And don’t forget to thank the members of your Coast Guard for all the work they do.

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