Chart Navigation & Plotting · Set and Drift
'Set' of a current is defined as the:
- ASpeed of the current in knots
- BDirection toward which the current flows✓ Correct
- CDirection from which the current flows
- DVector sum of wind and sea
Explanation
Set is the direction toward which the current flows (unlike wind, which is named for the direction it comes from). Drift is the current's speed. A current with a set of 090° flows toward the east.
Authority: Bowditch, American Practical Navigator (Pub. 9)
Practice the full Chart Navigation & Plotting bank
Free spaced-repetition quizzing across 2190 USCG exam questions — it schedules your reviews so the ones you miss come back until they stick.
Related Chart Navigation & Plotting questions
- Set and Drift
Your 0900 DR is 2.0 NM due north of your 0900 fix. Over the hour since the last fix, the current has:
- Set and Drift
To make good a desired track in a known current, the navigator solves for the course to steer using a vector triangle in which the current vector is laid off from the:
- Set and Drift
Your intended track is 090° at 10 knots. A current sets 180° at 2 knots. Ignoring leeway, your track made good will be deflected toward the:
- Chart Basics
On a Mercator chart, one nautical mile is measured using the:
- Chart Basics
The principal advantage of the Mercator projection for navigation is that:
- Chart Basics
Charted depths (soundings) on a U.S. chart are referenced to which tidal datum?