B737 CAPT; UNAWARE OF POS; TURNED PAST HIS OUTBOUND HEADING AND WAS ABOUT 12 MI OFF TRACK.

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CLBING OUT OF SAN WE WERE GIVEN A VECTOR TO PGY TO RESUME THE BORDER FOUR DEP. AT POGGI (PGY) THE CAPT STARTED A SHALLOW TURN AND I WAS OUTSIDE LOOKING FOR TFC (CTR CALLED OUT TFC EARLIER). MY HSI (COPLT'S) WAS SET UP TO INTERCEPT THE 002 DEG COURSE INTO JULIAN (JLI). I THOUGHT THE TURN WAS INITIALLY A TURN TO INTERCEPT THE 069 DEGS OUT OF PGY (PART OF THE BORDER 4 DEP); BUT THE TURN CONTINUED TO APPROX 010 DEG HDG. LATER DISCUSSION DETERMINED THAT THE CAPT THOUGHT THAT WE WERE OVER BROWS INTXN WHEN WE WERE OVERHEAD PGY. I WAS WAITING FOR THE NEEDLE TO DISPLACE OFF THE HSI (SET UP FOR 002 DEGS JLI COURSE) AND IT WASN'T MOVING. JUST ABOUT THEN CTR CALLED AND ASKED IF WE HAD BEEN CLRED DIRECT TO JLI. I SAID 'NO' WE WERE INTERCEPTING THE 002 DEG COURSE INTO JLI AND HE STATED WE WERE 12 MI W OF COURSE. THE CAPT REALIZED THE TURN WAS INITIATED TOO EARLY; STARTED A COURSE CORRECTION; AND THEN CTR CLRED US DIRECT TO JLI. LOOKING BACK; I LOST SOME SITUATIONAL AWARENESS WHEN I WAS OUTSIDE LOOKING FOR TFC AND NOT BACKING UP THE CAPT ON THE BORDER 4 DEP. I ALSO THINK THE CAPT (AND CTLR) MAY HAVE FALLEN INTO THE TRAP THAT MOST DEPS OUT OF SAN ARE GIVEN DIRECT TO JLI AROUND THE PGY VOR. IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS EXPECTED (AND ANTICIPATED). I THINK WE WOULD HAVE NOTICED THE DEV SINCE MY COURSE NEEDLE WAS NOT DISPLACING; BUT OBVIOUSLY; NOT BEFORE CTR NOTICED WE WERE HEADING OFF COURSE. THERE WERE NO TFC CONFLICTS THAT WE WERE AWARE OF.