Points of the compass 32-wind compass rose is yielded from the eight principal winds, eight half-winds and sixteen quarter-winds combined together, with each compass direction point at an ° angle from the next. In the mariner's exercise of boxing the compass, all thirty-two points of the compass are named in clockwise order. The traditional compass rose of eight winds (and its 16-wind and 32-wind derivatives) was invented by seafarers in the Mediterranean Sea during the Middle Ages (with no obvious connection to the twelve classical compass winds of the ancient Greeks and Romans). The traditional mariner's wind names were expressed in Italian, or more
Azimuth compass an azimuth compass designed by Gowin Knight to Joseph Banks for the voyage of HMS "Resolution" commanded by Captain James Cook in 1772. The instrument cost ₤80.0.0. On 6 February 1808 the American sealer "Topaz", commanded by Captain Mayhew Folger, arrived at Pitcairn Island to take on fresh water. There he found thirty five survivors of the Mutiny on the Bounty led by John Adams, who gave Folger the HMS "Bounty"'s azimuth compass and chronometer. Azimuth compass An azimuth compass (or azimuthal compass) is a nautical instrument used to measure the magnetic azimuth, the angle of the arc on the