Navigation with a Compass

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In which is shown what the 32 points of the compass are, and to what uses they serve.

The first and principle thing for any seafarer or traveller to know is to which part of the earth they mean to go, and the direction of their course; for on the sea there is no path or mark to travel by, but only the use of the Needle and Compass.

The Compass

There are four cardinal winds or points, and they are the only points that have proper names, from which all others are derived. Of the capital points, South is directly from the Meridian, and North is directly against it, and East comes from the Equinoctial point towards parts where the Sun is rising, and West towards where the Sun is setting, and the four are equally spaced, with the Meridian being the determiner settling all argument. Between these lie the four secondary points, being the Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and Northwest, and each lies exactly halfway between their cardinal points. Altogether these eight points are known as the head winds, and sometimes also as the capital points. And then there are eight inferior points or winds, halfway between every one of these capital points, and they are the North Northeast, East Northeast, and so forth as shown below. And now between every one of these inferior points and every one of the head winds, there is a by point; but it having no true name of its own, it is known by the name of the closest head point, and to which side it lies, as in North and by East, Northeast and by North, Northeast and by East, East and by North, and so forth as shown below. There are then sixteen by points, so with the eight capital points and the eight inferior points, the points of the compass are thirty-two.

The Needle

The major use of these points is to set a course to sail to an assigned place, and to hold the ship to that course, to arrive safely and rapidly at your destination. And this is done by use of the Needle, which floats over the compass rose, and always stands due South and North, but in its own manner and timing, as will be spoken about further. And the Needle will always stand correct, except that it be jammed, or tilted, or filled with grit; or that cold iron disrupts its magick. For the Needle is tuned and stroked with lodestone by masters of this recondite art, to train it to stand true in all weathers and conditions and even near large quantities of iron, so long as this last is not moved; for the Needle, like the migrating birds above and the cold fish below, rely on the steady pull of that intangible wind that is distorted by iron, so the needle will stay bent and off true until the cold iron returns to its place, and the needle stops quivering, but calms down and sets once more to its task.

The Clock

The other use of the compass is to contain the twenty-four hours of the day in its circumference. For in the compass lie the contents of the Equinoctial, being 360 degrees, so that every point contains 11 ¼ degrees, and 4 points contain 45 degrees, 8 points contain a quarter of the compass being 90 degrees, with 16 points containing half the circumference, or 180 degrees. As these 32 points contain the 24 hours, each point contains ¾ of an hour or 45 minutes of time, and 2 points an hour and a half, 4 points 3 hours, 8 points 6 hours, 12 points 9 hours, 16 points 12 hours, and so on. And this is used as the measure to mark the times of the ship by the helm.

Boxing the Compass

#	Compass point	Abbr.	Bearing	Wind point
1	North	N	0.00°	Cardinal
2	North by east	NbyE	11.25°	Bypoint
3	North-northeast	NNE	22.50°	Inferior
4	Northeast by north	NEbyN	33.75°	Bypoint
5	Northeast	NE	45.00°	Capital
6	Northeast by east	NEbyE	56.25°	Bypoint
7	East-northeast	ENE	67.50°	Inferior
8	East by north	EbyN	78.75°	Bypoint
9	East	E	90.00°	Cardinal
10	East by south	EbyS	101.25°	Bypoint
11	East-southeast	ESE	112.50°	Inferior
12	Southeast by east	SEbyE	123.75°	Bypoint
13	Southeast	SE	135.00°	Capital
14	Southeast by south	SEbyS	146.25°	Bypoint
15	South-southeast	SSE	157.50°	Inferior
16	South by east	SbyE	168.75°	Bypoint
17	South	S	180.00°	Cardinal
18	South by west	SbyW	191.25°	Bypoint
19	South-southwest	SSW	202.50°	Inferior
20	Southwest by south	SWbyS	213.75°	Bypoint
21	Southwest	SW	225.00°	Capital
22	Southwest by west	SWbyW	236.25°	Bypoint
23	West-southwest	WSW	247.50°	Inferior
24	West by south	WbyS	258.75°	Bypoint
25	West	W	270.00°	Cardinal
26	West by north	WbyN	281.25°	Bypoint
27	West-northwest	WNW	292.50°	Inferior
28	Northwest by west	NWbyW	303.75°	Bypoint
29	Northwest	NW	315.00°	Capital
30	Northwest by north	NWbyN	326.25°	Bypoint
31	North-northwest	NNW	337.50°	Inferior
32	North by west	NbyW	348.75°	Bypoint