Editing Cardinal mark (section)

{{short description|Sea mark indicating where safe water is near to a hazard}}
[[File:Cardinal Marks.gif|right|300px|thumb|Diagram of cardinal marks as seen during the day, with their light patterns.  The lights shown here are configured as "Quick".]]
A '''cardinal mark''' is a [[sea mark]] (a [[buoy]] or other floating or fixed structure) commonly used in maritime [[pilotage]] to indicate the position of a hazard and the direction of safe water.

Cardinal marks indicate the direction of safety as a [[cardinal directions|cardinal]] ([[compass]]) direction ([[north]], [[east]], [[south]] or [[west]]) relative to the mark. This makes them meaningful regardless of the direction or position of the approaching vessel, in contrast to the (perhaps better-known) [[lateral mark]] system.