An East Cardinal Mark corresponds to which description?

• A. Cones away, safe water east
• B. Cones toward, safe water west
• C. Two cones up, safe water north
• D. Yellow, cautionary area

Answer: (A)

Cardinal marks tell you exactly which side of the buoy has safe water. An East Cardinal mark means the safe water is to the east of the buoy. The phrase “cones away” refers to how the topmarks on Cardinal marks are oriented—the two cones are arranged in a way that points away from the safe-water side, signaling that the safe direction is east. So this description directly matches the East Cardinal mark’s purpose.

The other descriptions would describe different marks: “cones toward” would imply a different cardinal orientation (west), “two cones up” aligns with the North cardinal mark, and a yellow, cautionary area describes a different, non-cardinal mark entirely.