🔍 Key Concepts

• Leeway caused by wind and how it changes your actual path through the water vs your heading • Effect of a current (set and drift) on your course made good over the ground • How to construct a current triangle (or vector diagram) using engine speed, current, and required track to find course to steer

💭 Think About

• First, think about how an easterly wind affects your leeway direction. Does it push you to the north or to the south in this situation? • Next, consider the current: if the current is 180° at 0.5 knot, which way is it setting you, and is that helping or hurting you relative to the channel track? • When you combine the 8.0 knots through the water with the current vector, what heading will produce a ground track that stays in the York River Entrance Channel?

✅ Before You Answer

• Confirm which way an easterly wind blows (from the east toward the west) and which side of your bow the leeway will be on. • Draw a vector diagram: 8.0-knot speed through the water, 0.5-knot current at 180°, and the desired track line for the channel. • After estimating the heading to compensate for current, adjust it by the 2° leeway in the correct direction before comparing with the answer choices.