USCG Exam PracticeDanger bearings and danger circles
A navigator wishes to use a danger bearing to protect against a submerged reef but the reef has no distinct outer edge charted. Which construction method does Bowditch identify as appropriate in this situation?
- A. Draw the bearing line from the reference object to the shallowest sounding charted over the reef
- ✓ Scribe a danger circle at a safe clearance distance around the reef and draw the bearing line tangent to that circleCorrect
- C. Use a running fix from a single object to track distance off the reef continuously
- D. Plot a DR track that passes no closer than the vessel's beam width to the charted reef symbol
Why B is correct
Bowditch Ch. 7 §706 explicitly provides for scribing a danger circle at a safe distance around the hazard when the hazard edge is not well defined, with the bearing line drawn tangent to that circle. The other options are not described in §706 as danger bearing construction methods.
Cited:Bowditch Ch. 7 §706