USCG Exam PracticePlot true course and distance between two charted points
A vessel must make good a track of 090°T over the ground. A current is setting 000° at 3 knots. Using the current correction vector triangle, which action is required to determine the course to steer?
- A. Add the drift vector to the desired course made good to find the course steered
- B. Subtract the set from 090° to obtain the corrected compass course
- ✓ From the desired course made good and the drift vector, derive the course steered through the waterCorrect
- D. Apply leeway to the course made good and then add variation and deviation
Why C is correct
Bowditch Ch. 24 §2402 states that from the course made good and the drift vector, the navigator derives the course steered required to achieve the desired track over ground. This is the inverted form of the vector triangle: course steered + drift vector = course made good.
Cited:Bowditch Ch. 24 §2402