🔍 Key Concepts

• Compass to true conversions: relationship between PSC (per ship’s compass), deviation, variation, and true course • Westerly variation/deviation: remember the standard "compass to true" memory aid (e.g., Can Dead Men Vote Twice) and the sign convention for west vs east • Leeway: how a southerly wind affects a vessel on an easterly heading (does it push the bow toward a higher or lower true course?)

💭 Think About

• Start from the psc course and step-by-step apply deviation, variation, and then leeway, watching your signs at each stage • Ask yourself: with both deviation and variation west, do you add or subtract them when going from compass to magnetic to true? • Visualize the wind: if the vessel is heading generally east and the wind is from the south, is the vessel set toward the north or south, and does that increase or decrease the true course angle?

✅ Before You Answer

• Be sure you convert in the correct order: PSC → Compass → Magnetic → True, and only then apply leeway • Confirm the total of variation + deviation (with the proper sign) before changing from magnetic to true • After you apply leeway, check if the final true course is greater or smaller than the original compass course, and eliminate any choice that doesn’t match that trend