Our students also learn how to determine their position on a map. Using a hand-bearing directional compass, the crew sights three fixed, charted landmarks, such as bridges, river markers, or even tall buildings in a riverside community.

Students then plot the bearing (compass direction) of each landmark, drawing a straight line on the chart from the landmark's known position back in the direction of the ship. By marking three such bearings, crew members can triangulate their own location with a reasonable degree of accuracy.

This technique also invites additional areas of study. For example, for their research project, Daniella and Jacob had the entire crew take readings of markers in Athens Channel, then performed a statistical analysis of the variations in the crew's reported bearings (a study of human error).