During your oral exam you are asked: you are bringing a yacht alongside a berth in a crosswind blowing the vessel off the berth. What approach and line-handling strategy would you typically use?

A. Always approach with the wind directly behind the vessel regardless of berth orientation

B. Approach at a shallower angle, anticipating that the wind will push the vessel off, and get a head line (or a combination of head line and forward breast/spring) ashore as early as practicable, using this line in combination with engine and rudder to bring the vessel's stern in against the wind — getting an effective line ashore early is often more important than a "perfect" approach angle, since the line can be used to control the vessel's position even if the approach itself is imperfect

C. Approach at a steep angle directly toward the berth at constant speed, relying on engine power alone to hold position once alongside with no lines used initially

D. Crosswinds have no effect on berthing approach and can be disregarded

A. The tidal height at the time of transit to confirm sufficient under-keel clearance

B. The yacht's fuel consumption for that leg

C. The colour of the seabed shown on the chart

D. Only the distance to the next waypoint

A. Switch the ECDIS to standby mode and navigate by GPS position alone

B. Ignore it — ECDIS alarms are frequently false and can be left running

C. Assess the situation against the planned route and charted depths, take action to maintain safe water, and inform the Master if there is any doubt

D. Acknowledge and silence the alarm immediately so it does not distract the helmsman