NOAA ENC®

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

US4AL1CC - BON SECOUR BAY AND MOBILE BAY


INDEX:

NOTE A
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
ADMINISTRATION AREA
AIDS TO NAVIGATION
AUTHORITIES
BROADCASTS OF MARINE WEATHER FORECASTS AND WARNINGS BY MARINE RADIOTELEPHONE STATIONS
CAUTION - QUALITY OF BATHYMETRIC DATA
CAUTION - SMALL CRAFT
CAUTION - SUBMARINE PIPELINES AND CABLES
CAUTION - TEMPORARY CHANGES
CAUTION - DREDGED AREAS
CAUTION - USACE HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYS
CAUTION - USE OF RADIO SIGNALS (LIMITATIONS)
CAUTION - WARNINGS CONCERNING LARGE VESSELS
HURRICANES AND TROPICAL STORMS
INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY AIDS
MARINE WEATHER FORECASTS
MINERAL DEVELOPMENT STRUCTURES
NOAA WEATHER RADIO BROADCASTS
POLLUTION REPORTS
PUBLIC BOATING INSTRUCTION PROGRAMS
RACING BUOYS
RADAR REFLECTORS
RULES OF THE ROAD (ABRIDGED)
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICES
WARNING - PRUDENT MARINER
WATER LEVELS, CURRENTS, AND TIDES
COMMENTS REQUESTED


NOTES:

NOTE A
Navigation regulations are published in Chapter 2, U.S. Coast Pilot 5. Additions or revisions to Chapter 2 are published in the Notice to Mariners. Information concerning the regulations may be obtained at the Office of the Commander, 8th Coast Guard District in New Orleans, LA, or at the Office of the District Engineer, Corps of Engineers in Mobile, AL. Refer to charted regulation section numbers.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Additional information can be obtained at www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov .


ADMINISTRATION AREA
The entire extent of this ENC cell falls within the limits of an Administration Area. This area covers land, internal waters, and territorial sea. The territorial sea is a maritime zone over which the United States exercises sovereignty extending to the airspace as well as to its bed and subsoil. For more information, please refer to the Coast Pilot.


AIDS TO NAVIGATION
Consult U.S. Coast Guard Light List for supplemental information concerning aids to navigation.


AUTHORITIES
Hydrography and topography by the National Ocean Service, Coast Survey, with additional data from the Corps of Engineers, Geological Survey, and U.S. Coast Guard.


BROADCASTS OF MARINE WEATHER FORECASTS AND WARNINGS BY MARINE RADIOTELEPHONE STATIONS
CITY				STATION		   FREQUENCY			BROADCAST TIME-CST					   SPECIAL WARNING
Mobile, AL			WLO			    2572.000 kHz		6:00 AM, 7:00 PM & MIDNIGHT			   *On receipt
								    8808.800 kHz		6:00 AM, 7:00 PM & MIDNIGHT			   *On receipt
								    4397.700 kHz		6:00 AM, 7:00 PM & MIDNIGHT			   *On receipt
								   13178.800 kHz		6:00 AM, 7:00 PM & MIDNIGHT			   *On receipt

							  (Ch 25)161.850 MHz	    6:00 & 11:00 AM, 5:00 PM & 11:00 PM	   On receipt
							  (Ch 26)161.900 MHz	    6:00 & 11:00 AM, 5:00 PM & 11:00 PM	   On receipt
							  (Ch 27)161.950 MHz	    6:00 & 11:00 AM, 5:00 PM & 11:00 PM	   On receipt
							  (Ch 28)162.000 MHz	    6:00 & 11:00 AM, 5:00 PM & 11:00 PM	   On receipt
New Orleans, LA		NMG			    2670.000 kHz		4:35, 6:35, 10:35 & 11:50 AM		   *On receipt
													    4:35 & 11:50 PM
								     157.100 MHz		4:50 & 10:50 AM, 4:50 PM			   *On receipt
*Preceded by announcement on 2182.000 kHz and 156.800 MHz.
Distress calls for small craft are made on 2182.000 kHz or channel 16 (156.800 MHz) VHF.


CAUTION - QUALITY OF BATHYMETRIC DATA
The areas represented by the object M_QUAL (Quality of data) are approximate due to generalizing for clarity. Caution is advised, particularly for nearshore navigation or voyage planning. M_QUAL represents areas of uniform quality of bathymetric data. The CATZOC (Category of zone of confidence in data) attribute of M_QUAL provides an assessment of the overall zone of confidence.


CAUTION - SMALL CRAFT
Small craft should stay clear of large commercial and government vessels even if small craft have the right-of-way. All craft should avoid areas where the divers' flag, a red square with a diagonal white stripe, is displayed.


CAUTION - SUBMARINE PIPELINES AND CABLES
Additional uncharted submarine pipelines and submarine cables may exist within the area of this chart. Not all submarine pipelines and submarine cables are required to be buried, and those that were originally buried may have become exposed. Mariners should use extreme caution when operating vessels in depths of water comparable to their draft in areas where pipelines and cables may exist, and when anchoring, dragging or trawling. Covered wells may be marked by lighted or unlighted buoys.


CAUTION - TEMPORARY CHANGES
Temporary changes or defects in aids to navigation are not indicated. See Local Notice to Mariners.


CAUTION - DREDGED AREAS
Improved channels are subject to shoaling, particularly at the edges.


CAUTION - USACE HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYS
USACE conducts hydrographic surveys to monitor navigation conditions. These surveys are not intended to detect underwater features. Uncharted features hazardous to surface navigation may exist in federal channels, as might shoaling, particularly along the edges of channels. For more information visit https://navigation.usace.army.mil/Survey/Hydro/ .


CAUTION - USE OF RADIO SIGNALS (LIMITATIONS)
Limitations on the use of radio signals as aids to marine navigation can be found in the U.S. Coast Guard Light Lists and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency Publication 117. Radio direction finder bearings to commercial broadcasting stations are subject to error and should be used with caution.


CAUTION - WARNINGS CONCERNING LARGE VESSELS
The "Rules of the Road" state that recreational boats shall not impede the passage of a vessel that can navigate only within a narrow channel or fairway. Large vessels may appear to move slowly due to their large size but actually transit at speeds in excess of 12 knots, requiring a great distance in which to maneuver or stop. A large vessel's superstructure may block the wind with the result that sailboats and sailboards may unexpectedly find themselves unable to maneuver. Bow and stern waves can be hazardous to small vessels. Large vessels may not be able to see small craft close to their bows.


HURRICANES AND TROPICAL STORMS
Hurricanes, tropical storms, and other major storms may cause considerable damage to marine structures, aids to navigation, and moored vessels, resulting in submerged debris in unknown locations. Charted soundings, channel depths, and shoreline may not reflect actual conditions following these storms. Fixed aids to navigation may have been damaged or destroyed. Buoys may have been moved from their charted positions, damaged, sunk, extinguished, or otherwise made inoperative. Mariners should not rely upon the position or operation of an aid to navigation. Wrecks and submerged obstructions may have been displaced from charted locations. Pipelines may have become uncovered or moved. Mariners are urged to exercise extreme caution and are requested to report aids to navigation discrepancies and hazards to navigation to the nearest United States Coast Guard unit.


INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY AIDS
The U.S. Aids to Navigation System is designed for use with nautical charts, and the exact meaning of an aid to navigation may not be clear unless the appropriate ENC is consulted. Aids to navigation marking the Intracoastal Waterway exhibit unique yellow symbols to distinguish them from aids marking other water ways. When following the Intracoastal Waterway westward from Carrabelle, FL to Brownsville, TX, aids with yellow triangles should be kept on the starboard side of the vessel and aids with yellow squares should be kept on the port side of the vessel. A horizontal yellow band provides no lateral information, but simply identifies aids to navigation as marking the Intracoastal Waterway.


MARINE WEATHER FORECASTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE	TELEPHONE NUMBER	OFFICE HOURS
Mobile, AL					(251) 633-6443		8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (Mon-Fri)


MINERAL DEVELOPMENT STRUCTURES
Obstruction lights and sound (fog) signals are required for fixed mineral development structures shown on this chart, subject to approval by the District Commander, U.S. Coast Guard (33 CFR 67).


NOAA WEATHER RADIO BROADCASTS
The NOAA Weather Radio stations listed below provide continuous weather broadcasts. The reception range is typically 20 to 40 nautical miles from the antenna site, but can be as much as 100 nautical miles for stations at high elevations.

Mobile, AL			KEC-61		162.550 MHz
Pensacola, FL		KEC-86		162.400 MHz


POLLUTION REPORTS
Report all spills of oil and hazardous substances to the National Response Center via 1-800-424-8802 (toll free), or to the nearest U.S. Coast Guard facility if telephone communication is impossible (33 CFR 153).


PUBLIC BOATING INSTRUCTION PROGRAMS
The America's Boating Club®, United States Power Squadrons®, and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary (USCGAUX) conduct extensive boating instruction programs in communities throughout the United States. For information regarding these educational courses, and finding a course near you, click on the following public sources: https://www.americasboatingclub.org/index.php/learn and https://www.cgaux.org/boatinged/ .


RACING BUOYS
Racing buoys within the limits of this chart are not shown hereon. Information may be obtained from the U.S. Coast Guard District Offices as racing and other private buoys are not all listed in the U.S. Coast Guard Light List.


RADAR REFLECTORS
Radar reflectors have been placed on many floating aids to navigation. Individual radar reflector identification on these aids has been omitted from this chart.


RULES OF THE ROAD (ABRIDGED)
Motorless craft have the right-of-way in almost all cases. Sailing vessels and motorboats less than 65 feet / 19.8 meters in length shall not hamper, in a narrow channel, the safe passage of a vessel which can navigate only inside that channel. A motorboat being overtaken has the right-of-way. Motorboats approaching head to head or nearly so should pass port to port. When motorboats approach each other at right angles or obliquely, the boat on the right has the right-of-way in most cases. Motorboats must keep to the right in narrow channels, when safe and practicable. Mariners are urged to become familiar with the complete text of the Rules of the Road in U.S. Coast Guard publication "Amalgamated International & U.S. Inland Navigation Rules".


SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Consult U.S. Coast Pilot 5 for important supplemental information.


VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICES
The U.S. Coast Guard operates a mandatory vessel Traffic Services (VTS) system in the Lower Mississippi River. Vessel operating procedures and designated radiotelephone frequencies are published in 33 CFR 161, the U.S. Coast Pilot, and/or the VTS User's Manual. Mariners should consult these sources for applicable rules and reporting requirements. Although mandatory VTS participation is limited to the navigable waters of the United States, certain vessels are encouraged or may be required, as a condition of port entry, to report beyond this area to facilitate traffic management within the VTS area.


WARNING - PRUDENT MARINER
The prudent mariner will not rely solely on any single aid to navigation, particularly on floating aids. See U.S. Coast Guard Light List and U.S. Coast Pilot for details.


WATER LEVELS, CURRENTS, AND TIDES
Real-time water levels, tide predictions, and tidal current predictions are available on the internet from NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) at https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/water_level_info.html and https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/currents_info.html .


COMMENTS REQUESTED
NOAA encourages users to submit inquiries, discrepancies, or comments about this chart via NOAA's ASSIST tool at https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/customer-service/assist/ .


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