NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Silicon Sea: Leg 82
From: Eric Haberfellner
Date: 2001 Dec 03, 8:23 PM
From: Eric Haberfellner
Date: 2001 Dec 03, 8:23 PM
Well... I am not sure if there is a difference. I interpreted the question to mean "after figuring out the true course that we want to set out on and correcting for var. and dev. and current what course should we tell the helmsman (who may not be too bright, after all he is not a navigator) to steer on the compass". Now Dan asked for a compass course I thought that this is what he wanted, however you raised the question of is this the same as a compass heading. My first guess is that the answer is yes. There may be a subtle distinction however and that may be why I can't get the right answer as the one that Dan released accidently. I am about 3 degrees off. Dan, can you help clarify this? -----Original Message----- From Navigation Mailing List [mailto:NAVIGATION-L@LISTSERV.WEBKAHUNA.COM]On Behalf Of Brian Whatcott Sent: Monday, December 03, 2001 7:39 PM To: NAVIGATION-L@LISTSERV.WEBKAHUNA.COM Subject: Re: Silicon Sea: Leg 82 At 09:58 PM 12/2/01, Eric Haberfellnerwrote in response to my call for help; and this is a request for further clarification. >I asked: > >Is compass course the compass track between present position and >destination? Eric responded - in part: >Compass course is the course you see on your compass with no correction for >deviation or variation. This sounds like what I think of as a "heading". It accounts for the current set - so if you started with a true initial direction to the destination, and did a triangle of current speed and direction, and desired track at the vessels speed through the water, the third side of the triangle would be the vessel's effective speed and true track made good, then corrected for variation and deviation to arrive at compass heading. This "compass heading"; is this called the compass course?? Thanks again for the helpful tips. Brian W Brian Whatcott Altus OK Eureka!