Boxing the compass
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Boxing the compass is the action of naming all thirty-two principal points of the compass in clockwise order. Such names, formed by the initials of the cardinal directions and their intermediate ordinal directions, are accepted internationally, even though they have their origin in the English language, and are very handy to refer to a heading (or a course) in a general or colloquial fashion, without having to resort to computing or recalling angle numbers.
| # | Compass point | Abbr. | Traditional wind point | True heading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North | N | Tramontana | 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 | Greco Bora | 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 | Levante | 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 | Sirocco | 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 | Ostro | 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 | Libeccio | 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 | Ponente | 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 | Mistral | 315.00° |
| 30 | Northwest by north | NWbN | 326.25° | |
| 31 | North-northwest | NNW | 337.50° | |
| 32 | North by west | NbW | 348.75° |
- Compass
- Heading (disambiguation)
- Course (navigation)
- Bearing (navigation)
- Navigation
- Cardinal direction
- Ordinal direction
- Compass rose
- Wind rose
- Wind Rose – discusses the origins of the names for compass directions.