Bearing line of position

A bearing line of position is a single straight position line drawn from a charted object along the reciprocal of its observed bearing, placing the ship somewhere on that line. The observer takes a compass or radar bearing of a lighthouse, headland, or beacon, corrects it to true, and lays the line through the object’s charted position. One bearing line alone does not fix the ship; two or more crossed at a good angle of cut give a fix, while a single line transferred for run gives a running fix. A bearing line combined with a transit or a radar range also fixes position.