In article , Steve says...

I still petty much a traditionalist when it comes to treminology and I'm
gratified that there is at least a couple people left that can box the
compass.

These 32 points are not very practical for course keeping and fell out of
favor with with the need for precision in bearing taking an plot accuracy.

I don't think I have seen them on a compass card (on pleasure boat compass)
for 50 years. The Navy magnetic compass on WWII and earlier ship still had
them but the terms were seldom used except to discribe the "~true" wind
direction.

In everyday boat and weather vocabulary, only the cardinal points are used
today, along with an occasion NE or SW, etc. The lesser points become less
useful due to the problem of converting them to compass degrees in the
cockpit and at the chart table.


The wall of my office is decorated with a 1928 "War Department" chart of Lake
Huron, on which the major routes are all marked with their compass point
headings, such as "SE by E 3/4 E." Which is fascinating, but wouldn't be of
much use with a modern compass!

And whenever the movie "North by Northwest" is shown on TV my wife knows she is
going to hear me say something about how it's NOT North by Northwest, but rather
Northwest by North. g

Steve Christensen