105.4 Bearings and Fixes Flashcards
A line drawn from current location to a known, visible object is call either a
“Magnetic Bearing” or a “Line of Position”
The point at which two Magnetic Bearings (or Lines of Position) cross is known as a
fix
Name X ways to take a bearing
- Hand held bearing compass
- Other hand held compasses (iPhone)
- Approximate line taken over boats magnetic compass
- Steer the boat toward the object
If object of bearing is too small, use binoculars to
identify something larger behind it or even cloud above
At night, if difficult to get a bearing on a flashing light, use…
A solid light behind it or even a star directly above it
To check amount of leeway using compasses…
- Face aft and take hand-held reading directly up middle of wake
- Add 180 degrees
- Compare to compass heading
- Difference is leeway
For a fix to be accurate, two bearing lines should be done
at the same time, or no more than a minute apart
To further refine a fix, can be helpful to take a ____ bearing
third
Plot fixes on chart and compare with DR estimated position. Should be within
range – i.e., 10% of distance run on that bearing
In more dangerous areas, fixes should be done….
with greater frequency
Best bearing points in coastal cruising
- Things noted on the chart (towers, tanks, bridges)
- Prominent geographical features (mountain, right or left edge of an island?!?)
- Buoys, but…
Using buoys for bearings should consider…
- certainty of identifying the buoy correctly
2. buoy shifted out of position
An Estimated Position is based on a single bearing line compared to…
DR position estimate
An Estimated Position is at the intersection of the single bearing line and a line
perpendicular to it through the DR position estimate
An Estimated Position is _____ accurate than a two, three or running fix
less
A running fix is a position determined by the crossing of two bearing lines taken
at two different times on the same fixed object