SAFEGUARDS OF THE SEA 95 



to be injured or carried away by the ice 

 and spar-buoys of wood must take their place. 

 For these reasons a number of vessels must be 

 kept constantly employed in taking up buoys 

 and putting down new ones and to simplify 

 this work various stations are established at 

 different parts of the coast where the old buoys 

 are repainted and cleaned, the new ones stored 

 and vast quantities of supplies and apparatus 

 are kept constantly on hand. These depots 

 are most interesting spots for here one may 

 see the great buoys and lights at close quar- 

 ters, may examine the mechanism by which 

 the various appliances are operated, and may 

 obtain a good insight into the systems and 

 methods by which the mariners are protected 

 by these safeguards of the sea. 



Even with all these ingenious and elaborate 

 efforts to 'guard and protect mariners it 

 often becomes impossible for a ship to seek 

 safety in a harbour, for there are often long 

 stretches of exposed coast with no harbours or 

 sheltered spots. When a vessel is caught in a 

 severe storm in such a spot she is in great dan- 

 ger of being blown onto the shore and wrecked 



