Bow's notation, also known as the Bowditch's notation, is a system used in navigation to represent the course of a ship or the direction of a line on a chart. It is a shorthand method of writing down the direction of a line or the course of a ship, using the sixteen points of the compass and the four cardinal and four intercardinal points.
In Bow's notation, the direction of a line or the course of a ship is represented by a single letter, which corresponds to one of the sixteen points of the compass. The sixteen points of the compass are:
- N - North
- NNE - North-northeast
- NE - Northeast
- ENE - East-northeast
- E - East
- ESE - East-southeast
- SE - Southeast
- SSE - South-southeast
- S - South
- SSW - South-southwest
- SW - Southwest
- WSW - West-southwest
- W - West
- WNW - West-northwest
- NW - Northwest
- NNW - North-northwest
In addition to the sixteen points of the compass, Bow's notation also uses the four cardinal points (N, E, S, W) and the four intercardinal points (NE, SE, SW, NW). The cardinal points represent the four main directions (north, east, south, and west), while the intercardinal points represent the directions that are halfway between the cardinal points (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).
To use Bow's notation, simply write down the letter that corresponds to the direction of the line or the course of the ship. For example, if the line is pointing north, you would write down the letter "N". If the ship is sailing east, you would write down the letter "E".
Bow's notation is a quick and easy way to represent the direction of a line or the course of a ship. It is a widely used notation in navigation, and is often used in conjunction with other navigational tools, such as charts and compasses.