Chart Navigation & Plotting · Set & Drift — Course to Steer
To make good a desired track in a cross current, the navigator must:
- ASteer the desired track directly
- BSteer directly into the current
- CIncrease speed only
- DOffset the heading into the current so the resultant ground track equals the desired track✓ Correct
Explanation
The heading is angled upstream of the desired track by enough to cancel the current's sideways component. The solution is found by laying the current vector from the start and constructing the speed vector to intersect the desired track.
Authority: Bowditch (Pub. No. 9), current sailing
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