night watch

Just completing the night watch rotation here at 6:45am local time. Currently making 7+ knots on a course of 175 degrees (Magnetic). Approaching near Islas Selvagens which by chart notations appears to be a marine preserve of some type.


This picture is of the primary instrument we use other than the chart plotter (electronic map) to tell us at a glance our current status. In the upper left we have the lat/long which we use to transfer our current position to the paper chart. The paper chart is mostly used as backup in case of an electrical failure but also has some other benefits of additional notes and a broad view of the area.
In the upper right, DTW, means distance to waypoint. A waypoint is the current point you're steering towards.
In the lower right, BTW, means bearing to waypoint. This is the direction we should be steering to get to the next waypoint.
Bottom left, COG and SOG, are course and speed over ground, respectively; the course we are actually on including current drift, side slip, etc., and the speed are we actually obtaining including current and tidal effects.