Buoy Placement Underway at Les Cheneaux

A pair of torpedo-shaped buoys rest on the cement pier at Hessel Municipal Marina as the crew of United States Coast Guard cutter Buckthorn push off from the marina before embarking on buoy placement in the Les Cheneaux Islands Thursday morning, May 10. Another set of buoys is visible on the deck, behind crew members pulling bumpers up from the side of the vessel. The cutter and crew are stationed in Sault Ste. Marie. At right: Crew on the Buckthorn fold a flag after removing it from the pole at the stern of the vessel as it heads underway from the Hessel Municipal Marina to place channel marker buoys around the Les Cheneaux Islands Thursday morning. The U.S. Coast Guard places the large, red and green buoys in the spring and removes them in the fall each year. Removing flags at the bow and stern of Coast Guard vessels is customary when the boat is underway.