Question 1

Under sail with your engine running in gear, you are…

Accepted Answer

A power-driven vessel — Motor-sailing counts as power-driven — and by day you should hoist the motoring cone, point down, forward.

Question 2

At night you see red and green sidelights and NO masthead light. It is…

Accepted Answer

A sailing vessel coming towards you — Sidelights and sternlight only = sailing vessel. A masthead (steaming) light above sidelights means power-driven.

Question 3

A white masthead light above red and green sidelights, coming towards you, is…

Accepted Answer

A power-driven vessel under way — Masthead + sidelights (+ sternlight) is the power-driven pattern. Two masthead lights in a vertical-ish line fore and aft = a vessel over 50 m.

Question 4

Green over white all-round lights at night indicates…

Accepted Answer

A vessel trawling — Trawling: green over white. Other fishing: red over white (“red over white, fishing at night”). Pilot: white over red.

Question 5

A vessel at anchor by day shows…

Accepted Answer

A black ball forward — One black ball forward; at night an all-round white anchor light. Small craft in designated anchorages get some leeway, but the signal is the rule.

Question 6

At night you see a single all-round white light and nothing else. Among the possibilities is…

Accepted Answer

A vessel at anchor (or a small vessel’s stern light) — Anchor light, a sternlight you are overtaking, or a small power vessel’s all-round white — bearing movement and context decide. Approach assuming the least convenient answer.

Question 7

At night you see two all-round red lights in a vertical line, plus anchor lights. She is…

Accepted Answer

AGROUND — anchored lights plus two reds; by day, three balls in a line — Aground = at-anchor signals PLUS two reds (three balls by day). Give her a wide berth — whatever she hit is still there.

Question 8

White over red all-round lights at a masthead mean…

Accepted Answer

A PILOT VESSEL on duty — "white hat on a red coat" — Pilot boats show white over red on pilotage duty, plus normal navigation lights when making way.

Question 9

Three all-round green lights in a triangle mark…

Accepted Answer

A mine-clearance vessel — stay well over 1,000 m clear of her — Mine clearance shows three greens (three balls by day): it is dangerous to approach close — she may be streaming gear far around her.

Question 10

A rigid replica of code flag A (white and blue swallow-tail) on a small vessel means…

Accepted Answer

DIVER DOWN — keep well clear at slow speed — Flag A marks diving operations from small craft. Divers surface away from where you expect; pass wide and slow.

Question 11

A tow whose length exceeds 200 m shows, by day…

Accepted Answer

A diamond shape — on the towing vessel AND on the tow — Long tows carry diamonds at both ends (and the tug three masthead lights at night). The lethal mistake is steering between tug and tow — the wire is there.

Lights and day shapes

This lesson is part of a paid course