You are steering 257°T, and a light is...

Question 1 of 31048fy_heal_CREATE_q357_2022

You are steering 257°T, and a light is picked up dead ahead at a distance of 13.3 miles at 2016. You change course to pass the light 4 miles off abeam to starboard. If you are making 18.5 knots, what is your ETA at the position 4 miles off the light?

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Question 1 of 31048

🔍 Key Concepts

• Use the speed–distance–time formula: Speed = Distance / Time and convert knots to nautical miles per minute • Visualize the geometry: your present position, the light, and the point 4 NM abeam form a right triangle • Remember that 1 minute of time at a given speed in knots corresponds to a certain distance in nautical miles

💭 Think About

• How can you represent the initial 13.3 NM range to the light and the desired 4 NM closest point of approach (CPA) abeam as sides of a right triangle? Which side is which? • Once you know the leg of your track from your present position to the CPA point, how do you turn that distance into time using your speed of 18.5 knots? • After you find the time run from 2016 to the CPA point, which of the answer choices matches that new time (watch out for adding minutes correctly)?

✅ Before You Answer

• Confirm you are using nautical miles and knots (NM per hour) consistently in all calculations • Check that you used the Pythagorean theorem correctly to get the run distance from the 13.3 NM and 4 NM legs • Recalculate your final time difference in minutes and add it carefully to 2016 before picking one of the four choices