You are underway in a vessel with a draft of 7.0 feet (2.1 meters). The charted depth for your position is 9 fathoms. You compute the height of tide to be +3.0 feet (0.9 meters). You determine the depth of the water beneath your keel to be __________.

Correct Answer: Option C — 50 feet (15.3 meters)

Charted depth of 9 fathoms equals 54 feet. Adding the +3.0 feet tide height yields a total water depth of 57 feet. Subtracting the 7.0-foot draft leaves 50 feet of water beneath the keel, following standard USCG navigational sounding and tide calculations.