Ahoy - Mac's Web Log

The Mariners Compass of 360 degrees is divided into 32 points.

To name all these points starting from due North and moving in a clockwise direction is called:

Boxing The Compass.

The compass card within a compass or the compass rose shown on a map is a circle marked off in a clockwise direction in 360 equal units (360 degrees). North is marked at 0°, east at 90°, south at 180° and west at 270°. These are called the cardinal points of the compass (cardinal meaning of first importance, fundamental). Midway between the cardinal points are the intercardinal points; being northeast at 45°, southeast at 135°, southwest at 225° and northwest at 315°. These may again be divided giving another eight points such as north-northeast and north-northwest. Compass cards and roses are normally marked with these 16 divisions clearly shown. If another 16 intermediary divisions (as was once the custom) are shown then the naming of the resulting 32 points in a clockwise order is known as “Boxing the Compass.”