USCG Navigation Problems: Master's License

This is an interactive test. Read each question and select the proper answer by clicking on the appropriate answer. If a "Y" appears, your choice is correct. If a "N" appears, more study may be in order.

68: The river will be temporarily closed to navigation at mile 531.3 AHP due to repairs to the bridge. This will occur at 1300, 5 January, and last for six hours. What minimum speed over the ground must you make from Red River Landing Gage in order not to be delayed?
146: On which river is Dover, KY located?
213: From your 1915 position, you come left and set a course for Gardiners Point. At 1930, your position is LAT 41°12.7'N, LONG 71°56.8'W. What type of bottom is charted at this position?
300: You are bound for New London. Where will you cross the demarcation line and be governed by the Inland Rules of the Road? 

    N a. You are already governed by the Inland Rules.
    N b. Above the Thames River Bridge
    Y c. In the Race
    N d. You will not be governed by the Inland Rules.
396: A vessel at LAT 10°22.0'S, LONG 7°18.0'E, heads for a destination at LAT 6°52.0'N, LONG 57°23.0'W. Determine the true course and distance by Mercator sailing. 

    N a. 285°T, 3825.3 miles
    Y b. 285°T, 4025.7 miles
    N c. 296°T, 3825.3 miles
    N d. 296°T, 4025.7 miles
480: The great circle distance from LAT 25°50'N, LONG 77°00'W to LAT 35°56'N, LONG 06°15'W is 3616 miles, and the initial course is 061.7°T. The position of the vertex is LAT 37°34.9'N, LONG 25°59.0'W. Determine the latitude intersecting the great circle track 600 miles west of the vertex, along the great circle track. 

    Y a. 36°54.9'N
    N b. 36°50.2'N
    N c. 36°45.9'N
    N d. 36°36.8'N
547: At 0705, you change course to head for The Race. You wish to leave Race Rock Light bearing due north at 0.4 mile. If the current is 100°T, at 2.8 knots, and you are turning for 12.0 knots, what course (pgc) should you steer? 

    N a. 267°pgc
    Y b. 263°pgc
    N c. 255°pgc
    N d. 250°pgc
580: At 1037, you are on course 010°T at 10 knots, when you take the following lset of bearings:

Old Plantation Flats Light bearing 123° pgc
New Point Comfort Light bearing 285.8° pgc
Wolf Trap Light bearing 338° pgc

What is your 1037 position? 

    N a. LAT 37°15.9'N, LONG 76°07.9'W
    N b. LAT 37°15.9'N, LONG 76°07.7'W
    Y c. LAT 37°16.1'N, LONG 76°07.4'W
    N d. LAT 37°16.3'N, LONG 76°07.2'W
607: At 0915 zone time, on 6 March , you depart Sydney, LAT 33°51.5'S, LONG 151°13.0'E (ZD -10). You are bound for Kodiak, LAT 57°47.0'N, LONG 152°25.0'W, and you estimate your speed of advance at 21 knots. The distance is 6,222 miles. What is your estimated zone time of arrival at Kodiak? 

    N a. 0732, 17 March
    Y b. 2132, 17 March
    N c. 0732, 18 March
    N d. 2132, 18 March
619: Your vessel departs Montevideo, Uruguay, LAT 34°40.3'S, LONG 54°09.1'W (ZD +4), at 1800 zone time, on 15 October . It is bound for New York, LAT 40°27.5'N, LONG 73°49.9'W (ZD +5). The distance is 5,749 miles, and you expect to average 20 knots. What is your estimated zone time of arrival? 

    N a. 0427, 26 October
    N b. 1627, 26 October
    Y c. 1627, 27 October
    N d. 0427, 27 October
619: Your vessel departs Montevideo, Uruguay, LAT 34°40.3'S, LONG 54°09.1'W (ZD +4), at 1800 zone time, on 15 October . It is bound for New York, LAT 40°27.5'N, LONG 73°49.9'W (ZD +5). The distance is 5,749 miles, and you expect to average 20 knots. What is your estimated zone time of arrival? 

    N a. 0427, 26 October
    N b. 1627, 26 October
    Y c. 1627, 27 October
    N d. 0427, 27 October
655: On a North Pacific voyage, you wish to sail the shortest distance from LAT 46°05'N, LONG 124°00'W to LAT 44°00'N, LONG 150°00'E. You do not want to exceed 50°N latitude due to anticipated fog conditions. Which voyage plot meets these requirements? (Use gnomonic tracking chart WOXZC 5270) 

    N a. A great circle between departure and arrival with Mercator  legs north of the Aleutians
    N b. A great circle between departure and arrival with parallel  sailing where the track intersects the 50°N parallel
    Y c. A great circle to 50°N, 153°W, parallel sailing to 50°N, 173°W, then a great circle to arrival
    N d. A great circle from departure to the mid-longitude at 50°N, then another great circle to arrival
671: You are on a voyage from Nome to Honolulu via Unimak Pass (LAT 54°30'N, LONG 164°30'W). The great circle track passes through a point at LAT 38°00'N, LONG 161°40'W. Using gnomonic chart WOXZC5270, determine which answer is TRUE. (The great circle distance, Unimak Pass to Honolulu, is 2013 miles.) 

    N a. A great circle track results in a significant savings in distance when compared to a rhumb line.
    N b. The northern vertex of the great circle track would lie between Unimak Pass and Nome.
    N c. Distance of the great circle track is measured by using the length of degree of latitude at the mid-latitude of the track.
    Y d. A great circle course would offer no significant advantage  because the rhumb line course is close to 180°.
704: As you approach Giles Bend Cut-off Light (mile 367.7 AHP), what type of daymark would you see on the light structure? 

    N a. Green square
    N b. Green diamond
    Y c. Red triangle
    N d. Red diamond
814: On 1 July , your 0515 zone time fix gives you a position of LAT 23°24.0'S, LONG 151°42.0'W. Your vessel is on course 240°T, and your speed is 10.0 knots. Local apparent noon (LAN) occurs at 1215 zone time, at which time a meridian altitude of the Sun's lower limb is observed. The observed altitude (Ho) for this sight is 42°55.0'. What is the latitude at 1200 ZT? 

    N a. 24°02.5'S
    N b. 24°01.0'S
    Y c. 23°59.7'S
    N d. 23°58.6'S
1001: On 26 July , your 1030 ZT DR position is LAT 18°25'N, LONG 51°15'W. You are on course 231°T, speed 15 knots. Determine your 1200 position using the following observations of the Sun.

ZONE TIME GHA DECLINATION Ho
1228 50°23.5' N 19°21.9' 88°14.3'
1236 52°23.5' N 19°21.8' 88°29.0' 

    N a. LAT 18°00.9'N, LONG 51°31.9'W
    N b. LAT 18°03.5'N, LONG 51°36.2'W
    Y c. LAT 18°07.2'N, LONG 51°30.4'W
    N d. LAT 18°10.6'N, LONG 51°25.1'W
1104: On 19 November , your 0200 zone time DR position is LAT 20°29.0'N, LONG 150°21.3'E. You are on course 136°T at a speed of 18 knots. You observed 3 celestial bodies. Determine the latitude and longitude of your 0600 running fix. NP-0033

    N a. LAT 19°30.1'N, LONG 151°06.0'E
    N b. LAT 19°31.7'N, LONG 151°04.9'E
    Y c. LAT 19°33.0'N, LONG 151°10.0'E
    N d. LAT 19°35.8'N, LONG 151°13.6'E
1128: How far is it to the Hernando Desoto Bridge in Memphis, TN? 

    N a. 980.8 miles
    N b. 736.6 miles
    N c. 312.3 miles
    Y d. 218.1 miles
1131: At 1923, you increase speed to make good 9.2 mph. What is the first Gage you will pass after your speed change? 

    N a. Cottonwood Point
    Y b. Caruthersville
    N c. Fulton
    N d. New Madrid
1305: As you approach Ashland Light (mile 378.1 AHP) which daymark would you see? 

    Y a. Red triangle
    N b. Red diamond
    N c. Green square
    N d. Green diamond
1886: On 8 April , your evening DR position is LAT 22°16'N, LONG 157°58.3'W. You observe an unidentified star bearing 246°T at an observed altitude (Ho) of 58°45.5'. The chronometer reads 05h 09m 57s, and is 01m 23s slow. What star did you observe? 

    Y a. Betelgeuse
    N b. Aldebaran
    N c. Alnilam
    N d. Bellatrix
1896: On 22 June , your 0424 DR position is LAT 26°18.5'N, LONG 124°18.2'W. You observe an unidentified star bearing 154°T at an observed altitude (Ho) of 15°01.2'. The chronometer reads 12h 23m 24s, and is 01m 32s slow. What star did you observe? 

    N a. Peacock
    N b. Schedar
    Y c. Ankaa
    N d. Alioth
2157: On 25 May , your vessel's 1917 zone time position is LAT 24°16.0'N, LONG 017°26.0'W. At that time a sextant observation of the planet Saturn was made. The sextant altitude is 63°05.1', and the chronometer reads 08h 18m 24s. The index error is 4.5' off the arc, and the chronometer error is 01m 05s fast. Your height of eye is determined to be 62.0 feet. What is the azimuth (Zn) of this sight using the assumed position? 

    N a. 143.8°
    Y b. 147.3°
    N c. 148.7°
    N d. 149.9°
2240: At 1542 ZT, on 23 October , in DR position LAT 37° 28.5'N, LONG 156° 17.3'E, you observe an amplitude of the Moon. The center of the Moon is on the visible horizon and bears 282.5°psc. The variation is 0.0°. What is the deviation? 

    Y a. 2.2°E
    N b. 2.2°W
    N c. 1.2°E
    N d. 1.2°W
2277: You observe the lower limb of the Sun at a sextant altitude (hs) of 41°29.8' on 11 January . The index error is 2.4' off the arc. The height of eye is 68 feet. What is the observed altitude (Ho)? 

    N a. 41°36.4'
    Y b. 41°39.4'
    N c. 41°42.0'
    N d. 41°44.5'
2909: You are running coastwise at 14 knots. You sight a lighthouse abeam at 0912. At 0939 the lighthouse is 4 points abaft the beam. What is your distance off at the second bearing? 

    N a. 5.5 miles
    N b. 6.3 miles
    N c. 7.8 miles
    Y d. 8.9 miles
3066: The observed noon to noon run for a 24 hour period is 489 miles. The average RPM for the day was 95. The pitch of the wheel is 22.5 feet. What is the slip of the wheel? 

    N a. +3.2%
    Y b. +3.4%
    N c. +3.7%
    N d. +3.9%
3082: The speed of advance necessary to arrive in port at a designated time is 15.8 knots. The pitch of the propeller is 20.75 feet. You estimate 5% positive slip. How many RPM must you turn to make the necessary speed? 

    N a. 73.5
    N b. 76.2
    N c. 79.9
    Y d. 81.2
3251: You have steamed 916 miles at 13 knots, and consumed 166 tons of fuel. If you have 203 tons of usable fuel remaining, how far can you steam at 14 knots? 

    N a. 757 miles
    N b. 841 miles
    Y c. 966 miles
    N d. 1108 miles
3640: You desire to make good a true course of 223°. The variation is 2°E, magnetic compass deviation is 2°E, and gyrocompass error is 1°W. An east-southeast wind produces 3° leeway. What is the course to steer per standard magnetic compass to make the true course good? 

    N a. 213°psc
    Y b. 216°psc
    N c. 220°psc
    N d. 223°psc
10104: Your GPS position is LAT 36°55.2'N, LONG 75°33.1'W. What is the course per standard magnetic compass to Rudee Inlet (LAT 36°49.8'N, LONG 75°58.0'W)? 

    N a. 246.0°psc
    N b. 254.5°psc
    N c. 261.0°psc
    Y d. 265.5°psc
10106: What is the course per standard magnetic compass from Chesapeake Light to North Chesapeake Entrance Lighted Whistle Buoy NCA? 

    N a. 316°psc
    Y b. 321°psc
    N c. 323°psc
    N d. 326°psc
11102: What is the velocity of the first PM (Daylight Savings Time) maximum ebb current at Plum Gut on 10 August 1983? 

    N a. 3.3 knots
    N b. 4.0 knots
    N c. 4.5 knots
    Y d. 5.4 knots
11409: At 0647 your position is LAT 41°08.6'N, LONG 72°41.6'W. At 0729 your position is LAT 41°10.3'N, LONG 72°29.2'W. What were your true course and speed made good? 

    N a. 074° at  9.5 knots
    Y b. 080° at 13.6 knots
    N c. 253° at  9.7 knots
    N d. 258° at 13.5 knots
12100: You sight Wolf Trap Light in line with New Point Comfort Spit Light "2" bearing 040° per standard magnetic compass. You are on course 319° per standard magnetic compass. Based on this, you __________. 

    Y a. know the compass error is 8°W
    N b. should apply 3°Easterly deviation to the bearing
    N c. know the deviation table is incorrect
    N d. should suspect the compass may be affected by a local magnetic disturbance
12704: You are on course 137° per standard magnetic compass when you take the following bearings: Watch Hill Point Light - 051°psc Montauk Point Light - 184°psc Race Rock Light - 279°psc What is your position? 

    Y a. LAT 41°15.2'N, LONG 71°54.4'W
    N b. LAT 41°15.1'N, LONG 71°53.8'W
    N c. LAT 41°15.1'N, LONG 71°54.9'W
    N d. LAT 41°15.0'N, LONG 71°53.7'W
13108: At 1103 you are in the entrance to Great Salt Pond on Block Island with buoy "5" close aboard. What is your ETA at light "1" at the mouth of the approaches to Lake Montauk if you make good 8.2 knots? 

    N a. 1249
    N b. 1254
    N c. 1259
    Y d. 1310
14002: At 1630 your vessel exits Bonneville Lock steaming in a westerly direction. What speed must you average to arrive at the Interstate 5 highway bridge with an ETA of 2120? 

    N a. 6 mph
    N b. 7 mph
    Y c. 8 mph
    N d. 9 mph
14303: What is the height above the water of light No. 84 on the Columbia River below Bonneville lock & dam? 

    N a. 10 feet
    Y b. 14 feet
    N c. 18 feet
    N d. 24 feet
15064: At 0844, the range to the north end of Falkner Island is 2.0 miles and the left tangent bearing is 102°T. If the height of the tide is +1.0 foot, what is the approximate depth of the water under the keel? 

    N a. 14 ft (4.2 meters)
    Y b. 19 ft (5.8 meters)
    N c. 22 ft (6.7 meters)
    N d. 29 ft (8.8 meters)
15256: At 0700, Stratford Shoal Middle Ground Light bears 143°pgc at 1.8 miles. What is your 0700 position? 

    N a. LAT 41°04.8'N, LONG 73°06.7'W
    Y b. LAT 41°05.0'N, LONG 73°07.6'W
    N c. LAT 41°05.1'N, LONG 73°06.8'W
    N d. LAT 41°05.3'N, LONG 73°07.9'W
15561: At what time will you cross the 60 foot curve if you make good 12 knots? 

    Y a. 0527
    N b. 0534
    N c. 0541
    N d. 0544
15621: What is the length of the trip? 

    N a. 899.6 miles
    N b. 878.9 miles
    Y c. 851.9 miles
    N d. 726.0 miles
15638: At 2009 you are leaving New London Harbor with buoy "2"
close abeam to port. What is the true course to the Race that will leave Race Rock Light 0.5 mile abeam to port? 

    N a. 156°
    N b. 160°
    Y c. 164°
    N d. 168°
16015: By 0430, the wind has increased, and the visibility cleared due to passage of a front. You estimate 3° leeway due to NW'ly winds. What is the course per gyrocompass to pass 1.2 miles due south of Twenty-eight Foot Shoal Lighted Buoy "TE"? 

    Y a. 080°
    N b. 083°
    N c. 086°
    N d. 090°
16066: Which statement concerning Thimble Shoal Channel is TRUE? 

    Y a. The project width of the main channel is 1000 feet (30.3 meters)
    N b. The channel is 14.5 miles in length.
    N c. A tow drawing 30 feet (9.1 meters) is excluded from the main channel.
    N d. Thimble Shoal Channel is in international waters.
16138: At 1930 Race Rock Light bears 111°T, and Little Gull Island Light bears 172°T. Which of the following is your position at 1930? 

    N a. LAT 41°15.6'N, LONG 72°09.6'W
    N b. LAT 41°16.1'N, LONG 72°08.3'W
    N c. LAT 41°15.3'N, LONG 72°12.9'W
    Y d. LAT 41°15.8'N, LONG 72°07.1'W
16216: From your 0745 fix, you change course to pass 1.0 mile south of buoy "WH" and estimate your speed at 7 knots. If the visibility clears, what is the earliest time you can expect to see Block Island North Light tower? 

    N a. 0750
    Y b. 0807
    N c. 0838
    N d. 0845
16256: What is the course per gyro compass from the anchorage to point A located 0.5 mile east of Cape Charles Lighted Bell Buoy 14? 

    N a. 180°
    Y b. 184°
    N c. 198°
    N d. 199.5°
16358: What is the distance from the anchorage to point "A"? 

    N a. 13.9 miles
    Y b. 15.1 miles
    N c. 15.9 miles
    N d. 17.0 miles
16418: At 2100, you set course of 000°T, speed 10 knots from LAT 41°07.0'N, LONG 71°30.0'W. Visibility is 5.5 n.m. What is the earliest time you can expect to sight Point Judith Light? (Use charted range of 20 miles as nominal range.) 

    N a. The light is visible at 2100.
    Y b. 2114
    N c. 2123
    N d. 2131
16558: From your position you observe a rotating white and green light to the north. This light is most likely __________. 

    Y a. at an airport
    N b. on a naval mine-countermeasures vessel
    N c. "Block Island North Light"
    N d. on a vessel engaged in public safety activity
16615: At 0112, the radar range to Branford Reef Light is 2.9 miles. At 0125, the range is 3.6 miles. What is the position of your 0125 running fix if you are steering 124°T at 12 knots? 

    Y a. LAT 41°09.7'N, LONG 72°48.1'W
    N b. LAT 41°09.7'N, LONG 72°48.7'W
    N c. LAT 41°09.8'N, LONG 72°47.2'W
    N d. LAT 41°10.2'N, LONG 72°47.7'W