🔍 Key Concepts

• What information a helmsman needs immediately to steer the vessel correctly • Difference between long-term chart/navigation data (like variation and gyro error) and the data needed to hold a heading at that moment • What the steering compass is used for while actually steering

💭 Think About

• Ask yourself: as you take over the wheel, what single piece of information must you know so you can keep the ship on the proper heading right away? • Which of these options is something the offgoing helmsman can quickly tell you so you can continue smoothly without changing how the vessel is being steered? • Which items are normally dealt with by the officer of the watch in planning and correcting the course, rather than by the helmsman in the act of steering?

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify which option directly tells you what heading to steer right now • Separate what is used for voyage planning/corrections from what is used for day‑to‑day steering • Ask: which of these four is normally called out in the standard helm-relief exchange on the bridge?