Your vessel is making way through the water at a speed of 12 knots. Your vessel traveled 30 nautical miles in 2 hours 20 minutes. What current are you experiencing?
• Use the basic speed formula: Speed = Distance / Time • Convert 2 hours 20 minutes entirely into hours before calculating • Compare your vessel’s speed through the water (12 knots) with your speed made good over the ground to determine if the current is head or following
• First, compute your actual speed made good over the ground from the 30 NM in 2 hours 20 minutes. Is that more or less than 12 knots? • If your speed over the ground is greater than 12 knots, what kind of current is that? If it is less, what kind of current is it? • The difference between your speed through the water and speed over the ground will tell you the drift of the current. How big is that difference?
• Be sure you correctly convert 20 minutes to a fraction of an hour before dividing distance by time • Double-check that you are using nautical miles and knots consistently (1 knot = 1 nautical mile per hour) • Confirm whether your computed ground speed is higher or lower than 12 knots before choosing between head or following current options
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