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Navigation & Watchstanding Flashcards

7 cards from real AB practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Navigation & Watchstanding flashcards as text

  1. A power-driven vessel underway in good visibility is overtaking a sailing vessel. Which vessel has the right-of-way?

    Answer: The sailing vessel, because the overtaking vessel must keep clear regardless of propulsion type

    Rule 13 states that any vessel overtaking another must keep clear; the overtaking rule takes precedence over the power-versus-sail rule.

  2. When using a depth sounder to navigate along a charted depth contour, the helmsman must account for:

    Answer: The height of tide at the time of observation

    Chart depths are referenced to a datum such as MLLW, so the actual depth under the keel equals the charted depth plus (or minus) the height of tide.

  3. You are on anchor watch and notice the vessel has dragged anchor. After alerting the master, your immediate duty regarding navigation is to:

    Answer: Plot the new position and determine drift rate and direction

    Determining the new position, drift rate, and direction toward any hazard is essential information the master needs to decide the emergency response.

  4. What does a flashing blue light displayed by a vessel indicate under US regulations?

    Answer: The vessel is a law enforcement vessel

    Under 33 CFR, US law enforcement vessels may display a flashing blue light when engaged in direct law enforcement activities.

  5. The term 'set' as applied to current refers to:

    Answer: The direction toward which the current flows

    Set is the direction toward which a current flows, expressed as a true bearing; drift is the speed of the current in knots.

  6. During your watch you receive a SECURITE call on VHF Channel 16. This call indicates:

    Answer: A navigational or meteorological warning of importance to mariners

    SECURITE is the safety signal used to precede messages about navigational or meteorological hazards that are important to all mariners.

  7. When a vessel's course is expressed as a 'true course,' it is measured from:

    Answer: True (geographic) north, as found on the meridians of a chart

    A true course is measured clockwise from true (geographic) north — the north shown by the meridians printed on a nautical chart.