🔍 Key Concepts

• Identify the buoy from its black-yellow-black color pattern and the two cones base-to-base topmark (which type of cardinal mark is this, and where is the safe water? • On a cardinal buoy, you must pass on the safe side (N, E, S, or W) of the buoy, not over or toward the danger it marks. • Use the idea of bearing change: if you want to pass on a particular side of a fixed object, should the true bearing of that object increase, decrease, or stay constant as you proceed?

💭 Think About

• First, decide which cardinal mark this is and which side (north, east, south, or west) you are required to keep to stay in safe water. • Given your course of 039°T and the buoy’s bearing 053°T (slightly on your starboard bow), sketch or picture the relative geometry: which way must you turn so that your track clearly passes on the required safe side? • For each proposed new course, think about what should happen to the buoy’s true bearing over time if you are safely opening the distance on the correct side—will it steadily increase, steadily decrease, or remain nearly constant?

✅ Before You Answer

• Confirm from the IALA cardinal system that black-yellow-black with cones base-to-base corresponds to one specific cardinal direction and dictates where the safe water lies. • Check which maneuver makes your track pass clearly on the safe side of that cardinal buoy, not toward the danger it marks. • Verify that the chosen action will cause the buoy’s true bearing to steadily change in the correct direction (not remain steady), indicating you are opening the CPA (closest point of approach) on the correct side.