BEARINGS

when you are a lookout you must be able to tell the officer of the deck exactly where it is that you have discovered a ship a plane or any other object from your elevated position in the ship you can see farther than the officer of the deck and so you must act as his eyes in telling him exactly where the sighted object is located imagine the difficulties of describing the location of this ship however it can be reported accurately when you use the proper procedure the various steps of this procedure can be illustrated with shift models when you are a horizon look out in the topmost or similar high position you will see all about you the horizon which is where the sky apparently meets the sea or the land the verizon forms a circle about your ship since the verizon has no signposts you have no ready-made means of describing the location of an object you are spotting for purposes of measurement however the circle has been divided into three hundred and sixty units which are called degrees they are numbered clockwise for seagoing purposes these numbered degrees can be used as markers or measuring points suppose you cite a ship dead ahead you can describe its location as zero notice that it is located on the center line of your ship extended beyond its bow or on your ships course all ships will not be cited dead ahead your line of sight which is the imaginary line along which you look makes different angles with the bow line when you cite objects in various locations the measure of this angle is of course the number of degrees from the bow line to the line of sight this angle indicates where the sighted ship is located in relation to your bow line or course therefore this angle is called the cited ships relative bearing dead ahead is always zero relative and from this point relative bearings are measured clockwise clockwise means from left to right just exactly as the hands move on a clock and relative bearings are always measured clockwise from your course if you remember this in its relation to your ship it will help you measure relative bearings suppose the ship you cite is a beam on your starboard hand now keep in mind your ship's course and the relative location of the cited ship your course and your line of sight make an angle of 90 degrees this relative bearing is reported 0 90 suppose the ship you cite is a stern again keep in mind your ship's course and the relative location of the sighted ship your course in your line of sight make an angle of 180 degrees this relative bearing is reported 180 suppose the ship view site is a beam on your port hand again keep in mind your ship's course and the relative location of the sighted ship your course and your line of sight make an angle of 270 degrees this relative bearing is reported to 70 suppose you cite a ship broad on each bow while each one of them is the same number of degrees from your own ships course their bearings are still measured clockwise the ship that the right has a relative bearing of zero four or five the ship with the left has a relative bearing of 315 in reporting and recording bearings Navy style must be followed strictly this style replaces the point system formerly used it is designed to eliminate the possibility of misunderstandings in hearing or in reading figures the same style is used in reporting target angles now you will see how typical bearings are written and spoken first let's take 180 degrees this is written 18 art but it is spoken 180 305 degrees is written 305 it is spoken 305 arts occurring for the first time in second or third position are reported oh 100 degrees is written one art art but it is spoken one double o arts occurring together in second and third position are always reported double o 45 degrees is written off 45 the art is placed before all numbers having only two figures but note that it is spoken 045 it has always spoken zero when it is the first figure in a number to avoid confusing it with an O in an exclamation 90 degrees is written odd 9 art but it is spoken 090 a not occurring after zero is also spoken zero five degrees is written auth art five all numbers below 10 are always preceded by two arts this is spoken 005 either 0 or 360 degrees may be used whichever is convenient and consistent zero degrees is written aught aught aught it is spoken 000 360 degrees is written 36 art it is spoken 360 this Navy style will help you make your reports and records clear and unmistakable always use it in reporting or recording bearings and target angles bearings or angles are used in describing locations in many fields of activity the surveyor in mapping land measures and records angles with the transit he swings his instrument from one point to another and notes the angle the Navigator of your own ship many times a day takes bearings and uses them to fix his position and plot his courses many ships are equipped with the palace for this purpose other ships are equipped with this type of instrument for measuring bearings it is known as a surface lookout alidade and is a regular equipment of many surface lookout stations very often the lookout will not have instruments to use in taking bearings therefore he must train himself to estimate bearings both quickly and accurately here's a look out without an ala date yet he's able to report bearings ship models can be used to demonstrate how this is done now see what you can do suppose you estimate the bearing of this ship what is it notice that the sighted ship is slightly forward of a beam on your starboard hand barring 080 is correct now what is the bearing estimated notice that the sighted ship is well aft in your starboard quarter bearing 160 is correct now what is the bearing estimated notice that the sighted ship is somewhat forward of a beam on your port head barring three double o is correct make a habit of estimating the bearings of all the objects you see even when you're off watch in this way you will develop the speed and skill which result only from constant practice in reporting bearings you