16 POINTS OF A COMPASS-

16 POINTS OF A COMPASS-

Boxing the compass is the action of naming all thirty-two principal points of thecompass in clockwise order.

Navigational compass mariner‘s compass (Larger)
#	Compass point	Abbreviation	True Heading
1.	North	N	0.00°
2.	North by east	NbE	11.25°
3.	North-northeast	NNE	22.50°
4.	Northeast by north	NEbN	33.75°
5.	Northeast	NE	45.00°
6.	Northeast by east	NEbE	56.25°
7.	East-northeast	ENE	67.50°
8.	East by north	EbN	78.75°
9.	East	E	90.00°
10.	East by south	EbS	101.25°
11.	East-southeast	ESE	112.50°
12.	Southeast by east	SEbE	123.75°
13.	Southeast	SE	135.00°
14.	Southeast by south	SEbS	146.25°
15.	South-southeast	SSE	157.50°
16.	South by east	SbE	168.75°
17.	South	S	180.00°
18.	South by west	SbW	191.25°
19.	South-southwest	SSW	202.50°
20.	Southwest by south	SWbS	213.75°
21.	Southwest	SW	225.00°
22.	Southwest by west	SWbW	236.25°
23.	West-southwest	WSW	247.50°
24.	West by south	WbS	258.75°
25.	West	W	270.00°
26.	West by north	WbN	281.25°
27.	West-northwest	WNW	292.50°
28.	Northwest by west	NWbW	303.75°
29.	Northwest	NW	315.00°
30.	Northwest by north	NWbN	326.25°
31.	North-northwest	NNW	337.50°
32.	North by west	NbW	348.75°

 Before the Magnetic Compass was discovered, early map makers would draw a small 16 pointed circle on the map, and place an “N” to point to North. These were the 16 Cardinal Points from which the winds were thought to blow. This drawing was called a “Wind Rose.” When the magnetic compass came along, it was usually set on top of the Wind Rose pattern in order to help face the nautical chart in the proper direction. The wind rose started to become known as a COMPASS ROSE.

Since the 1100’s, compass bearings have been split into 16 different directions:
North – North North East – North East – East North East – East

East – East South East – South East – South South East – South

South South West – South West – West South West – West

West North West – North West – North North West – North
This was all the accuracy a Mariner’s Compass had to offer then. By today’s standards, it was not very accurate. As spherical mathematics improved, it became more customary to give bearings in units of “Degrees” from Geographic North. In the 1920’s, it became an accepted practice to indicate direction, called HEADING or BEARING, by a single number (0 to 360) representing degrees of a circle as measured clockwise from True North.

The development of the compass instrument itself represents quite an achievement, however the actual use of this instrument is more of an art form. The Compass is not by any means a complex instrument. Anyone from 9 to 90 should be able to learn compass operation with just some practice and understanding a few simple principles.