By 0430, the wind has increased, and the visibility cleared due to passage of a front. You estimate 3° leeway due to NW'ly winds. What is the course per gyrocompass to pass 1.2 miles due south of Twenty-eight Foot Shoal Lighted Buoy "TE"?
• Leeway caused by a NW wind and how it affects your course to steer • Using a plotting sheet or chart to lay off a track line passing 1.2 miles due south of a buoy • Converting between course over ground (COG), course through the water (CTW), and gyrocompass course
• First, ignore the leeway and figure out what true course would take you along a line passing 1.2 miles due south of Twenty-eight Foot Shoal Lighted Buoy 'TE'. Is that course generally east, slightly north of east, or slightly south of east? • Next, think about a NW wind: does it push your vessel toward the SE or toward the SW? Based on that, will your heading need to be more to the right or more to the left of the desired track? • After deciding if you must steer left or right of the desired track, compare your reasoning with the answer choices: which ones are more to the north or more to the south, and which best matches the likely correction for 3° leeway?
• Be clear about where the wind is coming from (NW) and the direction it pushes the vessel. • Confirm whether the desired track to pass south of the buoy is due east or has a slight north/south component before applying leeway. • Check that you are adjusting the course in the correct direction for leeway, not for current or magnetic variation.
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