Vane Shoal

Morse U, repeated. Two short and one long: you are standing into danger.

The shoal shoals to four metres across an area of roughly two square miles and does so without any change in the colour of the water above it. Three vessels were lost on it between 1901 and 1962. The caisson was sunk in 1966 and the light established the following year, and there has been no loss since.

Its character is morse U, two short flashes and one long, which in the international code carries a single meaning: you are standing into danger. There is no ambiguity in it and it is not intended to identify the station. A mariner who reads Mo(U) and does not know which light is sending it still knows precisely what to do.

RANGE AGAINST THE REGISTER

Ordane Rock

24M

Corvenn Reef

8M

Saltmere Head

19M

Hallow Pier

6M

Vane Shoal

14M

Bractan Range

21M