Which description best defines a West cardinal mark?

• A. Cones apart, safe water east
• B. Spheres top, safe water south
• C. Cones together, safe water west
• D. Cups up, safe water north

Answer: (C)

Cardinal marks show the direction of safe water relative to the mark, using topmarks to cue the direction. For a West cardinal mark, the two black cones are aligned together at their apexes, i.e., they are “cones together.” This orientation tells you that safe water lies to the west of the mark. So describing it as “cones together, safe water west” matches both the visual cue and the safe-water direction. If the cones were apart, or oriented up or down, that would indicate east, north, or south safe-water directions, respectively. The phrasing “cups up” isn’t the standard way to describe these cardinal topmarks, so it wouldn’t be the correct match.