NOAA ENCŪ

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

US5HOUAI - GALVESTON BAY


INDEX:

NOTE A
AIDS TO NAVIGATION
POLLUTION REPORTS
CAUTION - USE OF RADIO SIGNALS (LIMITATIONS)
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
CAUTION - TEMPORARY CHANGES
WARNING - PRUDENT MARINER
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
AUTHORITIES
ADMINISTRATION AREA
ARTICULATED AIDS
BROADCASTS OF MARINE WEATHER FORECASTS AND WARNINGS BY MARINE RADIOTELEPHONE STATIONS
CAUTION - DREDGED AREAS
CAUTION - GAS AND OIL WELL STRUCTURES
CAUTION - QUALITY OF BATHYMETRIC DATA
CAUTION - SMALL CRAFT
CAUTION - SUBMARINE PIPELINES AND CABLES
CAUTION - SURVEY
CAUTION - WARNING CONCERNING LARGE VESSELS
STATUTE MILES
HORIZONTAL DATUM
HURRICANES AND TROPICAL STORMS
INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY - AIDS
MARINE WEATHER FORECASTS - NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
MINERAL DEVELOPMENT STRUCTURES
NOAA WEATHER RADIO BROADCASTS
OYSTER AQUACULTURE
RACING BUOYS
RADAR REFLECTORS
RULES OF THE ROAD (ABRIDGED)
VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICES
WATER LEVELS, CURRENTS, AND TIDES
WEATHER RULES FOR SAFE BOATING
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 Galveston, TX. Refer to charted regulation section numbers.


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


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).


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.


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


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


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.


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


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.


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.


ARTICULATED AIDS
An articulated aid to navigation consists of a pipe structure that oscillates around a universal coupling connected to a sinker. The structure is kept upright by the buoyancy of a submerged floatation chamber. It is designed primarily to mark narrow channels in depths of up to 60 feet (18.3 meters).


BROADCASTS OF MARINE WEATHER FORECASTS AND WARNINGS BY MARINE RADIOTELEPHONE STATIONS
CITY                  STATION      FREQ. (kHz)      DAILY BROADCAST-CST     SPECIAL WARNING
Galveston, TX         NOY          2670             4:45 6:45 10:45 A.M.    *On receipt
                                   157.1 MHz        4:45 P.M.
Corpus Christi, TX    NOY-8        2670             4:40 6:40 10:40 A.M.    *On receipt
                                                    4:40 P.M.
Freeport, TX          NOY          157.1 MHz        4:45 6:45 10:45 A.M.    *On receipt
                                                    4:45 P.M.

*Preceded by announcement on 2182 kHz and 156.8 MHz
Distress calls for small craft are made on 2182 kHz or channel 16 (156.80 MHz) VHF.


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


CAUTION - GAS AND OIL WELL STRUCTURES
Uncharted platforms, gas and oil well structures, pipes, piles, and stakes can exist within the limits of this chart.


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 skin 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 - SURVEY
Survey platforms, signs, pipes, piles, and stakes, some submerged, may exist along the maintained channels. Piles and platforms are not charted where they interfere with a light symbol.


CAUTION - WARNING 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.


STATUTE MILES
The general location of the waterway is indicated. Mariners are advised to follow the aids to navigation and avoid charted shoals and obstructions. Mileage distances shown along the Waterway are in Statute Miles. Tables for converting Statute Miles to International Nautical Miles are given in U.S. Coast Pilot 5. Courses are TRUE and must be CORRECTED for any variation and compass deviation.


HORIZONTAL DATUM
The NOAA ENC references the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS-84). For charting purposes, the horizontal control of the current realization of WGS-84 is functionally equivalent to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame 2020 (ITRF2020) at the meter level for charts at scales of 1:5,000 or smaller.


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 chart is consulted. Aids to navigation marking the Intracoastal Waterway exhibit unique yellow symbols to distinguish them from aids marking other waterways. When following the Intracoastal Waterway westward from Carrabelle, Florida to Brownsville, Texas, 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
CITY                         TELEPHONE NUMBERS       OFFICE HOURS
Galveston, TX                *(281) 337-5074
Corpus Christi, TX            (361) 289-0959         8.00AM-5.00PM (Mon.-Fri.)
	                     *(361) 289-0753
*Recording (24 hours daily)


MINERAL DEVELOPMENT STRUCTURES
Obstruction lights and sound (fog) signals are required for fixed mineral development structures shown, 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.

Galveston, TX   	KHB-40		162.550 MHz


OYSTER AQUACULTURE
Oyster bed aquaculture leases may exist within the limits of this chart. Mariners are cautioned that numerous markers may exist and watermen may be active in the area. Caution should be exercised when navigating in or near these areas, not to anchor or ground, in order to avoid damage to the beds. Depths may be shallower than the soundings shown. Other oyster bed aquaculture leases may exist within the limits of this chart. For more information, contact the local department of natural resources.


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 19.8 meters/sixty-five feet 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".


VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICES
The U.S. Coast Guard operates a mandatory Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) system in the Houston, Galveston, and Texas City waterways. Vessel operating procedures and designated radiotelephone frequencies are published in 33 CFR 161; Chapter 2 U.S. Coast Pilot; and/or the VTS User's Manual. Mariners should consult these sources for applicable rules and reporting requirements. "Houston Traffic" is a full service VTS, providing a continuous Information Service; Traffic Organization Services as requisite; and Navigation Assistance Service upon request.


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.


WEATHER RULES FOR SAFE BOATING
Before setting out:
1.  Check local weather and sea conditions.
2.  Obtain the latest weather forecast for your area from radio broadcasts.

When warnings are in effect, don't go out unless you are confident your boat can be navigated safely under forecast conditions of wind and sea.

While afloat:
1.  Keep a weather eye out for:
    A.  A sudden vertical cumulus cloud development.
    B.  A sudden change in wind direction.
    C.  A sudden noticeable increase in wind velocity.
    D.  A drop in temperature.
2.  Be alert to heavy static on your AM radio which may indicate approaching thunderstorms.
3.  Check radio weather broadcasts for latest forecasts and warnings.

Thunder squalls often occur on warm, moist afternoons and are a great hazard to the mariner. They can have wind gusts up to 80 mph and hit almost without warning. To survive a squall, you must prevent being capsized or blown to leeward into danger.


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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