While on a course of 034° pgc, a light bears...

Question 1 of 2707066636eea28f7522a1c51afae

While on a course of 034° pgc, a light bears 8° on the port bow at a distance of 8.8 miles. What course should you steer to pass 2.5 miles abeam of the light leaving it to port?

Back

Question 1 of 27070

While on a course of 034° pgc, a light bears 8° on the port bow at a distance of 8.8 miles. What course should you steer to pass 2.5 miles abeam of the light leaving it to port?

🔍 Key Concepts

• Relative bearing vs. compass course (what does "8° on the port bow" mean in degrees pgc?) • Right triangle distance-off problems (using the tangent function to relate abeam distance, range, and relative bearing) • How changing course will affect the closest point of approach (CPA) distance off the light

💭 Think About

• First, convert the relative bearing of the light to a true/pgc bearing from your ship. How do you combine course steered and relative bearing on the bow? • Draw a right triangle from your current position to the light, showing the current line of approach and the desired abeam distance. Which side of the triangle represents the 2.5 miles abeam distance? • Which course will make your track line pass at a perpendicular distance of 2.5 miles from the light, given your present 8.8‑mile range and present relative bearing?

✅ Before You Answer

• Confirm you understand that 8° on the port bow is a relative bearing, not a compass course. • Use the correct trigonometric relationship: for small bearing angles from the bow, distance off = range × sine(relative bearing); verify if the present distance off is less than or greater than 2.5 miles. • After you find the required relative bearing at the closest point of approach, convert that back to a pgc course and check that it leaves the light on your port side at 2.5 miles abeam.