Visual fix

A visual fix is a position established from two or more simultaneous visual bearings of charted objects, plotted as lines of position whose intersection is the ship’s position. Three bearings are preferred: their lines should meet at a point, and a small cocked hat shows the residual error, with the navigator taking the position from its safest corner near danger. Objects are chosen for good angle of cut, ideally 60 to 120 degrees apart, and a quick object is observed last to reduce the time-spread error. The visual fix remains the primary check on GNSS in pilotage waters under SOLAS Chapter V watchkeeping practice.