You have arrived at your anchorage location. You have put the engines astern prior to letting go the anchor. How will you know when the vessel has stopped making way?
• Difference between a ship "making way" through the water vs. just having engines turning • What a steady bearing on the beam tells you about relative motion between your ship and an external object • How engine wash, Doppler log, and visual bearings each indicate (or fail to indicate) loss of headway
• If the Doppler log shows zero, does that always guarantee you have no forward motion relative to the water at the anchor spot? Think about current and set/drift. • What does it mean, in simple terms, when a bearing to an object on your beam stops changing? Relate this to relative motion and collision situations. • Is propeller backwash reaching amidships a reliable indicator that all forward motion has stopped, or can there still be some residual headway?
• Be clear on the definition of making way: movement of the vessel through the water, not necessarily over the ground. • Consider which method gives you the most direct evidence that relative motion between your vessel and a fixed object has stopped. • Ask whether any of the listed indicators could be misleading in strong current or wind conditions.
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