STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. A navigation buoy serves a vital purpose at sea. It's anchored in place keeping ships away from shoals, but to work, it has to remain in place, which a red buoy placed off South Carolina did not. It drifted hundreds of miles to New Smyrna Beach, Fla., where it washed up on the sand. Rather than directing ships, it's now attracting tourists. Nobody in South Carolina noticed it was missing until it washed ashore. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.