The Compass
A compass is used to find direction and is based on a circle.
The four cardinal points cut the circle into quarters.
They are named North, East, South and West and are represented by the letters N,E,S,W
These are supplemented by the four Primary Inter Cardinal points, which cut the circle into eighths.
They are named North East, South East, South West and North West.
They are represented by the letters NE ,SE,SW, NW
These are supplemented by the eight Secondary Inter Cardinal points, which cut the circle into sixteenths.
They are named North North East, East North East, East South East, South South East, South South West, West South West, West North West and North North West.
They are represented by the letters
NNE , ENE, ESE, SSE, SSW, WSW, WNW, NNW
Cardinal buoys tell mariners which way to pass safely.
Keep North of a North buoy, South of a South Buoy, East of an East buoy and West of a West buoy.
More info :
Bearings
Bearings are always measured from the North, in a clock wise direction.
Bearings always have three figures.
The bearing of one object from another is the angle between the line between the objects and the north line (N) through the first object.
Examples
F bears 055˚ from A
A bears 235˚ from F 
A bears 305˚ from F 
How to use a compass : Ordnance survey
© Alexander Forrest