At 0925, you obtain the following radar information: Falkner Island Light bearing 252° true at 1.65 nm If you correct for a current setting 215°T at 0.5 knot, what course will you steer from the 0925 position to arrive at a position 0.5 mile south of Long Sand Shoal West End Horn Buoy "W"?
• Set and drift of the current and how they affect your course to steer • Using a radar bearing and range to fix your 0925 position on the chart • Plotting a course over ground vs. course to steer when you know the current
• First, mark your 0925 radar fix on the chart from Falkner Island Light and then mark the point 0.5 nm south of Long Sand Shoal West End Horn Buoy "W". What is the true course over ground between these two points with no current? • Given the current setting 215°T at 0.5 knot and your likely speed through the water, in what direction will the current push you relative to your desired track, and by about how many degrees might you need to compensate? • When you combine your desired track and the current vector, which answer choice would reasonably bring your course to steer back toward the desired line from your actual starting position?
• Be sure you are using true directions (not magnetic) consistently when plotting bearings, courses, and current set. • Verify that you are plotting the current as a vector (set and drift) from your projected position over the expected time of run, not from a random point. • Double‑check that the course you select is up‑current of your desired track in the correct direction so the set will carry you onto, not away from, the track.
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