On an anchor windlass, what is the part called that makes contact with the rode or chain?
Send your answer to cruisingcompass@bwsailing.com. A winner, who will receive a Blue Water Sailing hat, will be selected at random from the correct answers.
Thanks to last week’s Mindbender winner, Jim Gravelle, for his answer to the question: “You are at the helm when the navigator asks what compass course you are steering. You tell her 235 degrees. With a variation of 7 degrees west and a deviation of 4 degrees east, what true course would she plot on the chart?”
The solution is found by using the formula TVMDC (True/Variation/Magnetic/Deviation/Compass. First, enter the known quantities, 7W 4E 235. Going from right to left you add the East and subtract the West numbers. Therefore, 235 + 4E = 239 – 7W = 232 True. The heading of 232T should be plotted on the chart.
