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Boxing the Compass
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Boxing the compass was at one time a necessary sea-going skill. Back in Land Navigation? My
Land Navigation the day, mariners reckoned direction by points, not by degrees the way we 159-page, fully
Course often do now. Still, even today it's a good idea for any navigator--land or illustrated book is yours
marine--to have a basic understanding of the 32 points of the compass for the asking.
Surviving the Wilds rose.
Reading a Map
Recall, for example, some of the weather reports you may have heard--
Contour Lines Hurricane Alice is centered approximately 166 nautical miles east-
southeast of Big Pine Key at 24 degrees North, 78 degrees West. Its current
Map Scale heading is west-northwest toward Big Pine Key. Residents are urged to
make preparations.
Terrain Features
As a navigator--a land navigator IS a navigator--you should probably
understand such terminology. So, just for the fun of it, let's get started
Terrain
boxing the compass.
Association
Get your own
We'll start with our four cardinal directions--north, east, south, and west.
Latitude and (Never Eat Soggy Wheaties.)
customized
Longitude topographical maps,
built according to your
UTM Grid specifications.
MGRS
Plotting
Coordinates
Using a
Compass
Magnetic
Declination
How to Use a
Compass
How to Orient a
Map
Getting Around
Natural
Navigation
Celestial
Navigation
Stellarium
Electronic
Navigation
GPS
Inter-cardinal directions -- 8 points
Orienteering
Base Camp
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Sixteen points might be adequate in many cases, but still the old mariners
wanted 32 points, so they added the "by points."
N by E S by W
NE by N SW by S
NE by E SW by W
E by N W by S
E by S W by N
SE by E NW by W
SE by S NW by N
S by E N by W
If you're a boater, you may have wondered why your bow running lights, for
example, are required to shine, as follows--
You may have wondered where they got that odd number of degrees.
Simple. Compass points. 112.5 degrees equals 10 points.
Stern lights must shine 67.5 degrees forward on each side. That's six
compass points on each side. Sometimes, they say the lights must shine
from "two points abaft the beam." Since the port beam is 270 degrees, and
the starboard beam is 90 degrees, the lights must shine from 247.5
degrees to 112.5 degrees. (Mariners consider the bow to be 000 degrees,
no matter where it's pointed.)
All this stuff is actually pretty cool, and if you ever get into marine
navigation, if you haven't already, a lot of your land navigation knowledge
will transfer over.
If you need to improve your land navigation, this web site can help.
Also, my online video course, takes you figuratively by the hand and leads
you step by step through the topic of land navigation.
Whether you're on land or at sea, the idea is to get from point A to point
B.
I don't know about you, but I'm glad we now mostly use the 360-degrees
method. Navigation is hard enough without having to stop to think about,
for example, which way is SW by W.
The days of "boxing the compass," that is reciting all the compass points
clockwise, then counterclockwise, are mercifully over. There still may be
some Coast Guard or Naval Academy cadets who must do this, but for the
most part, the system, according to my understanding is largely a holdover
from days gone by. Still, in some cases, the usage remains. As a navigator,
you'll at least want to have a working knowledge of compass points.