🔍 Key Concepts

• Difference between steering the ship (what the helmsman actually does) and navigational corrections like variation and deviation • What information helps you keep the ship on the same steady heading at the exact moment you take the wheel • The difference between long‑term navigation factors (charts, compass corrections) and instant, practical steering info at the helm

💭 Think About

• Ask yourself: When you put your hands on the wheel, which piece of information lets you immediately continue the same steering effort as the person you’re relieving? • Which options deal with the magnetic/true direction of the course on the chart, and which deal with the physical angle of the rudder or steering effort? • Think: What does the officer of the watch already accounts for in the course ordered, versus what the helmsman must know to physically hold that ordered course?

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify which choice is about the actual rudder/helm position rather than the chart or compass corrections • Separate the answers that belong in a compass error table (variation/deviation) from the one that belongs at the steering stand • Consider which factor the relieving helmsman must know immediately, without doing any calculations, to avoid a sudden swing of the ship when they take over