Watch Officer sighting
 

When your watch officer reports a contact 30 degrees off your bow is he refering the contacts bearing is true to 000 or is 30 degrees relative to your direction of travel? :arrgh!: :arrgh!:

All contact reports (sight from WO or sound from hydrophone operator) are always given as a relative bearing. 0 in front of you, 90 to the right, 180 behind and 270 to your left. Makes things a lot easier as you don't have to do the math of substracting your heading from a true bearing...

The degree stated is always off your bow.

Yep, it's the bearing off of the bow.