🔍 Key Concepts

• Use of the Tidal Current Tables for the appropriate year and region (Chesapeake Bay / Smith Point, VA) • How to convert Daylight Saving Time (DST) and apply the zone description (ZD +4) when entering times in current tables or atlases • Using current differences/spacing diagrams or a subordinate station table for an offshore position (4.5 miles east) relative to the reference station

💭 Think About

• How do you correctly convert 0630 DST (ZD +4) into the standard time format used in the Tidal Current Tables for 6 May 1983? • Once you know the current at the reference station at that time, what table or diagram tells you how the velocity changes at a point 4.5 miles offshore from Smith Point? • After you interpolate or read the value for that exact time, does the resulting drift speed more closely match a weaker slack-type current or a stronger mid‑tide current among the choices?

✅ Before You Answer

• Confirm you are using the correct reference station for Smith Point, VA for the correct date (6 May 1983) • Make sure the time conversion from DST with ZD +4 to the table’s time is done before entering the tables • Verify whether the problem requires interpolation between hourly current values or between printed stages of the tidal cycle before selecting the closest knot value