🔍 Key Concepts

• Right vs. left semicircle of a tropical cyclone in the Northern Hemisphere and how the circulation and storm track combine there • How to use the relative wind direction on your vessel (bow vs. quarter, port vs. starboard) to move away from the storm center • Relationship between the storm’s motion, your motion, and whether you’re placing yourself on a safer or more dangerous track

💭 Think About

• Think about which side of the storm (right semicircle) has the strongest winds and the greatest risk of being drawn into the storm’s path. Which way do you want your ship to move relative to the storm center? • If the wind is already coming from a certain direction in the right semicircle, which way should you steer so your course tends to take you away from the storm center instead of crossing ahead of it? • Compare what happens to your relative position to the storm if the apparent wind is held on the bow versus the quarter. Which option tends to open the distance from the center in the right semicircle?

✅ Before You Answer

• Recall that in the Northern Hemisphere, cyclonic winds rotate counterclockwise and the storm itself usually moves generally west-northwest to north-eastward (but verify local track). • For each choice, sketch a simple diagram: storm center, its track, wind direction around it, then place your vessel in the right semicircle and draw the wind on bow or quarter. See whether that course tends to move you closer to or farther from the center. • Verify which standard rule mariners memorize for the Northern Hemisphere: in the right (dangerous) semicircle, you place the wind on a specific quarter or bow to keep clear; in the left (navigable) semicircle, you place it on the opposite side. Match that memory aid to the options.