While on a course of 283°pgc, a light bears 10° on the port bow at a distance of 8.3 miles. What course should you steer to pass 3.5 miles abeam of the light leaving it to port?

Question

While on a course of 283&deg;pgc, a light bears 10&deg; on the port bow at a distance of 8.3 miles. What course should you steer to pass 3.5 miles abeam of the light leaving it to port?

Accepted Answer

Option D: 298&deg;pgc. Using the principles of right-triangle trigonometry, the change in course is calculated by finding the angle whose sine is the desired passing distance (3.5) divided by the current distance (8.3). This yields approximately 25 degrees. Applying this to the original course of 283 degrees results in a new course of 298 degrees.

While on a course of 283&deg;pgc, a light bears 10&deg; on the port bow at a distance of 8.3 miles. What course should you steer to pass 3.5 miles abeam of the light leaving it to port?

While on a course of 283°pgc, a light bears 10° on the port bow at a distance of 8.3 miles. What course should you steer to pass 3.5 miles abeam of the light leaving it to port?