When the “WH” buoy is abeam, what is your...

Question 1 of 2707066636eea28f7522a1c51b882

When the “WH” buoy is abeam, what is your distance off the buoy if your course steered and leeway haven’t changed?

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Question 1 of 27070

Q

When the “WH” buoy is abeam, what is your distance off the buoy if your course steered and leeway haven’t changed?

🔍 Key Concepts

• Abeam means the object is 90° off your bow on either side • Using your track line and the buoy’s charted position to form a right triangle • Relating run along track to distance off when the object is abeam

💭 Think About

• Think about the relative bearing of the buoy when you first sighted it and when it is abeam—what kind of triangle does that create with your track? • How does a constant course and leeway affect the shape of your track line between those two bearings? • Which simple trigonometric ratio (sine, cosine, or tangent) usually connects the distance run along your course to the distance off at abeam when the bearings differ by 90°?

✅ Before You Answer

• Confirm that the course steered and leeway are constant, so your track is a straight line • Check that the bearings you would have used differ by 90°, making a right triangle • Verify you’re using the distance run along the track (speed × time) in the correct trig function to compute the distance off when abeam