Paul, I agree with the priority you''re advising: take a bearing on the contact, first thing. But the reality often is that determining *accurate* bearing drift offshore during an initial period of several minutes - while the small boats we typically sail are bouncing around and changing heading constantly - is difficult. It''s different on a protected lake or bay, but then the navigation puzzle is often different, as well. I find it common, at least offshore, that the potential for collision (or too close an approach) is normally determined either by range
lights or running
lights (on smaller vessels).
The point of this is not to disagree with taking a bearing, but rather to breathe a little reality into the puzzle of determining bearing drift.
Jack