A crew member lifts the cockpit locker and finds the steering cable (the wire connecting the wheel to the rudder) has snapped. What does this mean?

A. It means the engine has also definitely failed at the same time

B. A snapped cable is a minor issue that can be ignored — the rudder will still respond to the wheel as normal

C. This means the whole boat is sinking and must be abandoned

D. The wheel will no longer move the rudder at all — the boat needs another way to be steered until this is repaired, since the cable itself usually cannot be fixed quickly at sea

A. "STEERING FAILURE!" so everyone knows immediately, then check if it is a temporary snag (something jammed) or a real loss of steering, while trying to keep the boat as steady as possible using sail trim or the engine briefly

B. Immediately stop the boat dead in the water without checking anything else first

C. Say nothing and quietly try to fix it alone first

D. Assume the rudder has fallen off completely and act as if there is nothing that can be done

A. There is no way to steer a boat once the wheel has failed — wait for a tow no matter how long it takes

B. Have a crew member hang over the back of the boat to push the rudder by hand

C. Check if there is an emergency tiller (a separate handle that fits directly onto the rudder post, often stowed in a cockpit locker) and fit it if available. If not, try steering using sail trim alone (easing or pulling in sails on each side) to gently turn the boat

D. Try to lift the rudder out of the water completely to fix the cable while still sailing