Buoyed

Nautical. a distinctively shaped and marked float, sometimes carrying a signal or signals, anchored to mark a channel, anchorage, navigational hazard, etc., or to provide a mooring place away from the shore.
a life buoy.
to keep afloat or support by or as if by a life buoy; keep from sinking (often followed by up):
The life jacket buoyed her up until help arrived.
Nautical. to mark with a buoy or buoys.
to sustain or encourage (often followed by up):
Her courage was buoyed by the doctor’s assurances.
to float or rise by reason of lightness.
Contemporary Examples

Bachmann’s Iowa Triumph Kirsten Powers August 12, 2011
Threesome Marriages Abby Ellin May 6, 2009
Our Tenant, Rielle Hunter A. L. Bardach March 15, 2010
Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich’s Hypocrisy on Super PACs Michael Waldman December 20, 2011
How ‘Obamacare’ Could Lose in the Supreme Court Adam Winkler November 13, 2011

Historical Examples

The Way We Live Now Anthony Trollope
The Woman-Haters Joseph C. Lincoln
Poor Man’s Rock Bertrand W. Sinclair
Nobody Louis Joseph Vance
The Dreadnought of the Air Percy F. Westerman

noun
a distinctively shaped and coloured float, anchored to the bottom, for designating moorings, navigable channels, or obstructions in a body of water See also life buoy
verb
(transitive) usually foll by up. to prevent from sinking: the belt buoyed him up
(transitive) usually foll by up. to raise the spirits of; hearten
(transitive) (nautical) to mark (a channel or obstruction) with a buoy or buoys
(intransitive) to rise to the surface
n.
v.