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.

54: What is the length of the trip?
85: You are turning for 10 mph, approaching Angola, LA. Angola reports that the current at Red River Landing is estimated at 4.5 mph. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
108: The horizontal clearance of the center span on the Baton Rouge RR and Highway 190 Bridge is __________.
161: At 1923, on September 21, you pass Bixby Towhead Light (mile 873.7 AHP). What was your average speed since leaving Cairo? 

    N a. 12.1 mph
    Y b. 11.3 mph
    N c. 10.5 mph
    N d. 9.2 mph
275: At 1038, you are 0.4 mile south of Long Sand Shoal Buoy "8A" on course 090°T when visibility is reduced to 1 mile in rain and haze. You intend to stay on 090°T until your Loran shows a reading that you can safely follow to the approaches of New London. Which of the following Loran readings will you look for? 

    Y a. 9960-Y-43980
    N b. 9960-X-26290
    N c. 9960-W-14730
    N d. 9960-W-14810
348: At 0430, you take the following radar ranges:

Stratford Point Light @ 5.25 nm
Middle Ground Light @ 4.55 nm

What is your 0430 position? 

    N a. LAT 41°08.9'N, LONG 73°00.0'W
    N b. LAT 41°05.0'N, LONG 73°01.1'W
    Y c. LAT 41°05.8'N, LONG 73°00.8'W
    N d. LAT 41°06.5'N, LONG 73°01.4'W
401: Your vessel receives a distress call from a vessel reporting her position as LAT 35°01'S, LONG 18°51'W. Your position is LAT 30°18'S, LONG 21°42'W. Determine the true course from your vessel to the vessel in distress by Mercator sailing. 

    N a. 135°T
    N b. 149°T
    Y c. 153°T
    N d. 160°T
456: At 0630, you pass Buoy "PI" close abeam on the starboard side. You are steering 078°T and are headed directly toward Race Rock Light. At 0654, Little Gull Island Light is bearing 207°T and Race Rock Light is bearing 072°T. What is your 0654 position? 

    N a. LAT 41°13.6'N, LONG 72°03.3'W
    Y b. LAT 41°14.0'N, LONG 72°05.3'W
    N c. LAT 41°14.7'N, LONG 72°06.8'W
    N d. LAT 41°19.0'N, LONG 72°05.2'W
491: At 0748, you take the following bearings:

Watch Hill Point Light bearing 020.5° pgc
Race Point Light bearing 267.5° pgc

What is the approximate depth of water at this position? 

    N a. 104 feet
    Y b. 130 feet
    N c. 175 feet
    N d. 325 feet
514: The shoreline along Rocky Point should give a good radar return because __________. 

    Y a. the shore is bluff and rocky
    N b. of offshore exposed rocks
    N c. submerged reefs cause prominent breakers
    N d. the lookout tower is marked with radar reflectors
613: On 21 November, at 2100 zone time, you depart LAT 32°12.0'N, LONG 69°26.0'W enroute to LAT 12°05.0'N, LONG 7°32.0'W. The distance is 3,519 miles, and the average speed will be 12.5 knots. What is the zone time of arrival? 

    N a. 1330, 3 December
    N b. 1530, 3 December
    Y c. 1830, 3 December
    N d. 1530, 4 December
670: You are on a voyage from Cape May (LAT 39°50'N, LONG 74°45'W) to the English Channel (LAT 49°00'N, LONG 05°00'W). What will NOT prohibit the use of a great circle track from departure to arrival? (Use gnomonic chart WOXZC5274.) 

    N a. Newfoundland
    N b. Icebergs north of 48°N and west of 49°W
    N c. Islands approximately 50 miles south of Cape Cod
    Y d. The high latitude in which the vertex lies
680: On which voyage would a great circle track provide a significant savings in distance to steam, when compared to a rhumb line track? (Use gnomonic tracking chart WOXZC 5270.) 

    N a. Valdez, AK, to the Marquesas Islands (LAT 8°00'S, LONG 140°00'W)
    N b. San Francisco to Kodiak, AK
    N c. Christmas Island (LAT 2°00'N, LONG 157°30'W) to Singapore via LAT 3°00'N, LONG 126°00'E
    Y d. Guam (LAT 14°00'N, LONG 145°00'E) to Seattle via LAT 47°30'N, LONG 125°30'W
811: On 1 July , your 0515 ZT fix gives you a position of LAT 24°36.0'S, LONG 151°42.0'W. Your vessel is on course 300°T, and your speed is 10.0 knots. Local apparent noon (LAN) occurs at 1215 ZT, 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 calculated latitude at LAN? 

    N a. 24°03.6'S
    N b. 24°02.5'S
    Y c. 24°01.0'S
    N d. 24°00.0'S
988: On 29 June , your 0800 zone time fix gives you a position of LAT 26°16.0'S, LONG 61°04.0'E. Your vessel is steaming a course of 079°T at a speed of 15.5 knots. An observation of the Sun's upper limb is made at 0905 zone time, and the observed altitude (Ho) is 25°20.1. The chronometer reads 05h 08m 12s, and the chronometer error is 02m 27s fast. Local apparent noon occurs at 1154 zone time, and a meridian altitude of the Sun's lower limb is made. The observed altitude (Ho) for this sight is 40°44.2'. Determine the vessel's 1200 zone time position. 

    Y a. LAT 26°02.0'S, LONG 62°05.0'E
    N b. LAT 26°02.0'S, LONG 62°23.2'E
    N c. LAT 26°05.1'S, LONG 62°06.3'E
    N d. LAT 25°56.0'S, LONG 62°03.0'E
1206: Your 0900 DR position is LAT 23°16'N, LONG 146°12'E. Your vessel is on a course of 286°T, at a speed of 14.5 knots. Determine the zone time of LAN on 14 March . 

    N a. 1151
    N b. 1209
    N c. 1223
    Y d. 1228
1261: On 16 February , your 0300 ZT DR position is LAT 28°32.0'S, LONG 176°49.0'E. You are on course 082°T at a speed of 21 knots. What will be the zone time of sunrise at your vessel? 

    N a. 0534
    Y b. 0552
    N c. 0631
    N d. 0645
1270: At 0500 zone time, on 21 August , your DR position is LAT 47°00'N, LONG 125°15'W. You are steering 000°T at a speed of 9.8 knots. What is the zone time of sunrise? 

    Y a. 0525
    N b. 0529
    N c. 0531
    N d. 0535
1343: At 1019, on 10 March, you pass under the Greenville Bridge (mile 531.3 AHP). What was your average speed since departing River Cement Co. Dock? 

    Y a. 7.2 mph
    N b. 6.8 mph
    N c. 6.5 mph
    N d. 6.2 mph
1773: What daymark should you see as you approach French Point Light (mile 915.4 AHP)? 

    Y a. Red triangle
    N b. Green triangle
    N c. Red diamond
    N d. Green diamond
1913: On 14 January , your 0550 DR position is LAT 25°26.0'N, LONG 38°16.0'W. You observe an unidentified star bearing 212°T at an observed altitude (Ho) of 41°42.3'. The chronometer reads 08h 48m 51s, and is 01m 22s slow. What star did you observe? 

    Y a. Gienah
    N b. Kochab
    N c. Gacrux
    N d. Eltanin
2092: At your current speed of 23 knots you only have enough fuel remaining to travel 386 miles. You must travel 785 miles to reach your destination. What should you reduce your speed (knots) to in order to reach your destination? 

    N a. 19.3
    N b. 17.7
    Y c. 16.1
    N d. 14.5
2158: On 26 May , your vessel's 1906 zone time position is LAT 27°16.0'N, LONG 24°37.0'W. At that time, a sextant observation of the planet Jupiter was made. The sextant altitude is 63°27.6', and the chronometer reads 09h 05m 16s. The index error is 5.2' on the arc, and the chronometer error is 01m 25s slow. Your height of eye is determined to be 52.6 feet. What is the (Zn) of this sight using the assumed position? 

    N a. 011.3°T
    Y b. 168.7°T
    N c. 191.3°T
    N d. 348.7°T
2213: Controlling depth of a channel __________. 

    Y a. is the least depth within the limits of the channel
    N b. is the greatest depth within the limits of the channel
    N c. permits the safe use of the channel to drafts of more than that depth
    N d. is the designed dredging depth of a channel constructed by the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers
2296: If your vessel is making turns for 7.5 mph with an estimated average current of 1.5 mph, what is your ETA at the dock in Angelina, LA? 

    Y a. 1621, 28 Dec
    N b. 2203, 28 Dec
    N c. 0516, 29 Dec
    N d. 1621, 29 Dec
2879: Your vessel is steering 354°T at 14 knots. At 0317 a light bears 049°T, and at 0342 the same light bears 071°T. What will be your distance off abeam? 

    Y a. 12.4 miles
    N b. 12.7 miles
    N c. 13.0 miles
    N d. 13.3 miles
3754: Your vessel is proceeding up a channel, and you see a pair of range lights that are in line ahead. The chart indicates that the direction of this pair of lights is 014°T, and the variation is 11°E. If the heading of your vessel at the time of the sighting is 009° per standard magnetic compass, what is the correct deviation? 

    N a. 5°E
    N b. 5°W
    N c. 6°E
    Y d. 6°W
10707: At 0726 you depart Lake Montauk with light 1 close aboard and set course 065° per standard magnetic compass at 6.7 knots. At 0912 your GPS position is LAT 41°12.8'N, LONG 71°48.2'W. What is the current? 

    N a. 151°T at 1.0 knot
    N b. 164°T at 0.7 knot
    Y c. 287°T at 2.0 knots
    N d. 321°T at 0.8 knot
11302: At 1614 your GPS position is LAT 37°01.6'N, LONG 75°31.7'W. At 1703 your position is LAT 36°57.0'N, LONG 75°41.0'W. What was the course made good between the fixes? 

    Y a. 238°T
    N b. 242°T
    N c. 247°T
    N d. 250°T
11507: At 1014 you depart the entrance to Lake Montauk with light "1" close aboard. Your course is 066° per standard magnetic compass, and the speed is 8.6 knots. At 1222 your position is LAT 41°20.0'N, LONG 71°40.0'W. What is the speed made good? 

    N a. 8.4 knots
    N b. 8.6 knots
    Y c. 9.2 knots
    N d. 9.6 knots
12901: Your 1152 position is LAT 37°23.9'N, LONG 76°05.5'W. You are turning for 10.3 knots. What is your ETA at Trestle C of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel if you follow York Spit Channel? 

    Y a. 1404
    N b. 1349
    N c. 1342
    N d. 1339
13104: At 0242 your position is LAT 41°16.8'N, LONG 71°39.9'W. You are turning for 9.3 knots. What is your ETA at the West Gap of Pt. Judith Harbor of Refuge? 

    N a. 0319
    N b. 0325
    N c. 0329
    Y d. 0336
13500: The soundings on this chart are measured in __________. 

    Y a. feet
    N b. yards
    N c. meters
    N d. fathoms
13705: The broken magenta lines (long and short dashes) in and around Mobjack Bay (LAT 37°20'N, LONG 76°22'W) indicate __________. 

    N a. amphibious training areas
    N b. grounds for dredge spoil
    Y c. fish trap areas
    N d. gunnery exercise areas
14203: What is the vertical clearance of the fixed bridge across the entrance to Rock Creek at Stevenson, Washington? 

    Y a. 18 feet
    N b. 36 feet
    N c. 54 feet
    N d. 70 feet
15039: At 0725 you determined your vessel's position to be 37°15.5'N, 75°33.2'W. Assuming that you make good your course of 206° true and a speed of 18 knots, at what time would you expect to be abeam of Cape Charles Lighted Bell Buoy "14"? 

    N a. 0750
    N b. 0754
    Y c. 0758
    N d. 0802
15067: At 0946, the radar range to Hammonasset Point is 2.5 miles.
The range to the eastern most point of Falkner Island is 3.3 miles, and the range to Horton Point is 10.1 miles. What is your position at 0946? 

    Y a. LAT  41°13.1'N,  LONG 72°34.8'W
    N b. LAT  41°13.0'N,  LONG 72°34.5'W
    N c. LAT  41°12.8'N,  LONG 72°35.1'W
    N d. LAT  41°12.8'N,  LONG 72°34.4'W
15120: If you have 17.3 miles to reach your destination from your 2000 position and want to be there at 2230, what speed should you make good? 

    N a. 5.7 knots
    N b. 6.1 knots
    N c. 6.5 knots
    Y d. 6.9 knots
15219: From your 2118 position, you steer a course of 288°T at an engine speed of 7.0 knots. At 2120 visibility is suddenly reduced to 2 miles. At what time can you expect to see Old Point Comfort Light? 

    N a. 2136
    N b. 2143
    N c. 2202
    Y d. 2228
15444: At 2306, as you pass through Trestle "C", you take a gyro bearing of the trestle when it is in line. The bearing is 049.0°. What is the gyro error? 

    Y a. 0°
    N b. 1.5°E
    N c. 1.0°W
    N d. 2.5°W
15539: At 2127 you are on course 076°T. What is your ETA at a position where Twenty Eight Foot Shoal Lighted Bell Buoy "TE" is abeam to port? 

    N a. 2316
    N b. 2324
    Y c. 2332
    N d. 2345
15606: Your 1600 position is LAT 37°22.5'N, LONG 75°32.3'W. The depth of water under the keel is about __________. 

    Y a. 38 feet (11.5 meters)
    N b. 45 feet (13.6 meters)
    N c. 52 feet (15.8 meters)
    N d. 59 feet (17.3 meters)
15609: From your 1715 fix, you steer 214°T at 12 knots. At 1800,
you take the following bearings:

Cape Charles Light bearing 296° true
Cape Henry light bearing 242° true

Your 1800 position is __________. 

    Y a. LAT 37°02.9'N,  LONG 75°43.1'W
    N b. LAT 37°02.9'N,  LONG 75°43.9'W
    N c. LAT 37°03.0'N,  LONG 75°43.3'W
    N d. LAT 37°03.1'N,  LONG 75°42.8'W
15722: What is your ETA at the Memphis Highway Bridge? 

    N a. 0828, 22 Sept
    Y b. 1052, 22 Sept
    N c. 1405, 22 Sept
    N d. 1813, 22 Sept
15759: You calculate that the current will be flooding at the Race at 0700. You should expect to be set in which general direction at the Race? 

    Y a. West
    N b. East
    N c. Northeast
    N d. Southwest
15813: According to the DR track line from your 0100 position, how far off Roanoke Point Shoal Buoy "5" should you be when the buoy is abeam? 

    N a. 0.2 mile
    Y b. 0.6 mile
    N c. 1.3 mile
    N d. 1.8 miles
15818: At 0300, your position is LAT 41°01.7'N, LONG 72°55.1'W. From this position you steer a course of 289° per standard magnetic compass at an engine speed of 10.0 knots. At what time can you first expect to see Stratford Shoal Middle Ground Light if the luminous range is 8.0 miles? 

    Y a. 0303
    N b. 0309
    N c. 0312
    N d. 0318
15856: What type of bottom is found at Long Sand Shoal? 

    N a. Rocky
    Y b. Hard
    N c. Sandy
    N d. Muddy
15956: The National Weather Service provides 24-hour weather broadcasts to vessels transiting the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. The broadcasts may be found on __________. 

    N a. 202.35 MHz
    N b. 181.15 MHz
    Y c. 162.55 MHz
    N d. 147.45 MHz
15970: If you have 16.3 miles to reach your destination from your 2000 position and want to be there at 2230, what speed should you make good? 

    N a. 5.7 knots
    N b. 6.1 knots
    Y c. 6.5 knots
    N d. 6.9 knots
16142: At 1949 Little Gull Island Light bears 270°T and is 1.7 miles off. From this position, you change course to 118°T and increase engine speed to 18 knots. If you make good your course and speed, at what time should Shagwong Reef Lighted Bell Buoy "7SR" bear 180°T? 

    Y a. 2016
    N b. 2019
    N c. 2022
    N d. 2025
16267: When Cape Henry Light is abeam, what is the approximate distance to Yorktown, VA? 

    Y a. 34 miles
    N b. 42 miles
    N c. 55 miles
    N d. 58 miles
16465: At 0600, you are entering the inbound leg of the traffic separation scheme at position LAT 36°59.2'N, LONG 75°47.6'
W. Course is 250°T. At 0605, Cape Henry Light bears 249°
T. At 0610, it bears 248°T. At 0625, it bears 247°T. Based on this, you know you are __________. 

    N a. meeting a current from dead ahead
    N b. running with a current from dead ahead
    Y c. being set to the north
    N d. being set to the south
16539: If you estimate 3° leeway due to northerly winds, which course will you steer per standard magnetic compass (psc)
to make good 255°T? 

    N a. 267°psc
    Y b. 270°psc
    N c. 272°psc
    N d. 274°psc
16646: The Tidal Current Tables indicate the following for the Race:
SLACK WATER MAXIMUM CURRENT
0328 0642 3.9 F
0947 1301 3.2 E

What current should you expect when transiting the Race? 

    N a. 3.9 knots, flooding
    Y b. 3.5 knots, flooding
    N c. 3.3 knots, flooding
    N d. 3.0 knots, flooding