You are underway on course 315° T at 14...

Question 1 of 2707066636eea28f7522a1c51b733

You are underway on course 315° T at 14 knots. The current is 135° T at 1.9 knots. What is the course being made good?

Question 1 of 27070

You are underway on course 315° T at 14 knots. The current is 135° T at 1.9 knots. What is the course being made good?

🔍 Key Concepts

• Set and drift of current and how they affect a vessel’s actual track over the ground • Vector diagram or triangle of velocities: combining ship’s velocity through the water with current vector • Relationship between course steered (through the water) and course made good (over the ground)

💭 Think About

• Sketch the ship’s course vector (315° T at 14 knots) and then add the current vector (135° T at 1.9 knots). In which general direction will the current push the ship’s track? • Is the current helping or opposing your motion along 315° T, or is it mostly sideways to that course? How would that change your actual course over the ground? • Compare the direction of the current (135° T) with your heading (315° T). Are they roughly opposite, roughly the same, or roughly at right angles? What does that imply for whether the course made good will be to the left or right of 315° T?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify which way a current from 135° T is flowing on the compass rose and how that relates to your course of 315° T (they are almost opposite directions). • Check whether a relatively small current (1.9 knots vs 14 knots) can reverse your direction of travel, or only slightly alter your course made good. • Before picking an answer, ask: should the course made good be close to the steered course, or nearly opposite to it, given the relative magnitudes of speed and current?