Statement: When making a Williamson turn, the ship should always be steadied up 60 degrees from her initial course. True or False?

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not sure
• D. Not applicable

Answer: (B)

The Williamson turn is a quick way to reverse course for search tasks, accomplished by two 60-degree turns that put you on the reciprocal of your original heading. The key idea is to end up heading roughly opposite to where you came from, so you can search the area behind your initial track.

Saying you should always steady up 60 degrees from the initial course implies you finish the maneuver on a fixed 60-degree offset, which isn’t correct. The maneuver’s purpose is to reverse direction, ending on the opposite heading of the initial course, not to maintain a constant 60-degree offset.

For example, if you were on a course of 090 degrees, a Williamson turn should bring you onto about 270 degrees (the reciprocal), after going through the sequence of turns. The 60-degree turns are part of the path, but the final result is a reverse course, not a steady 60-degree offset.