You are approaching a bend in a channel. You cannot see around the bend because of the height of the bank. You should sound a whistle blast of one second duration.

You are approaching a bend in a channel. You cannot see around the bend because of the height of the bank. You should sound a whistle blast of one second duration.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Two seconds
• D. It depends on the traffic

Answer: (B)

The important idea is that when you can’t see around a bend due to obstructions, you must make a clearly audible signal to indicate your presence and warn other vessels. A one-second whistle blast is too brief to be reliably heard or understood around a bend; it doesn’t provide a reliable warning in restricted visibility. Instead, you should give a long blast (roughly a 4–6 second tone) and repeat as needed to ensure the signal carries around the bend and alerts approaching traffic. That longer blast is the standard way to indicate you are there and proceeding with caution, rather than a very short signal.

The important idea is that when you can’t see around a bend due to obstructions, you must make a clearly audible signal to indicate your presence and warn other vessels. A one-second whistle blast is too brief to be reliably heard or understood around a bend; it doesn’t provide a reliable warning in restricted visibility.

Instead, you should give a long blast (roughly a 4–6 second tone) and repeat as needed to ensure the signal carries around the bend and alerts approaching traffic. That longer blast is the standard way to indicate you are there and proceeding with caution, rather than a very short signal.