Question 8 AT01 - Assistance Towing Endorsement

The Correct Answer is B **Explanation for Option B (Use more right rudder):** When a wave overtakes a vessel in a following sea, it can cause the phenomenon known as "broaching" or "surfing," where the stern is lifted and pushed sideways. In this scenario, the wave has thrown the stern to **starboard**. When the stern moves to starboard, the bow of the vessel simultaneously slews (moves) to **port**. To counteract this undesired movement and bring the bow back onto the original course (correcting the port swing), the helmsman must apply rudder in the opposite direction of the bow swing. Therefore, to move the bow back to the right (starboard), you must apply **right rudder**. (Alternatively: If the stern is thrown to starboard, the boat is effectively turning left. To stop a turn to the left, you apply right rudder.) **Why the other options are incorrect:** * **A) Use more left rudder:** Applying left rudder would swing the bow further to port, compounding the problem caused by the wave and taking the vessel further off course. * **C) Increase speed:** While increasing speed might help regain steerage initially, in a following sea where surfing is occurring, increasing speed can dangerously exacerbate the situation, making the vessel more prone to broaching (losing directional control entirely) as it drives down the wave face. It is generally a corrective measure for *losing* steerage, not *regaining* control during a wave push. * **D) Decrease speed:** Decreasing speed in the trough or on the face of a wave can lead to the vessel losing steerage entirely (the rudder becomes ineffective), making it impossible to control the vessel's direction and increasing the risk of being thrown beam-on to the next wave, which is highly dangerous. Control is maintained by steering into the wave's effects, not by reducing the control authority.