In Dead Reckoning navigation, which data are used to estimate your position?

In Dead Reckoning navigation, which data are used to estimate your position?

• A. Wind, sea conditions, and current
• B. Direction, distance, and time travelled
• C. Relies on current wind and waves
• D. Course, distance, and time travelled

Answer: (D)

Dead Reckoning estimates where you are by starting from a known position and moving along a chosen track for a measured distance over a given time. The essential data you use are the course you’re following (the direction of travel over the ground), the distance you’ve traveled since the last fix, and the time elapsed. With those, you plot a line from the last known position in the direction of travel for the distance covered in that time, updating as you go. Time helps you keep the distance current, especially if speed changes. Wind, currents, and waves affect your actual position, causing drift, but they aren’t the data used to calculate the DR position itself. The combination of course, distance, and time travelled is what allows you to estimate your position in Dead Reckoning.

Dead Reckoning estimates where you are by starting from a known position and moving along a chosen track for a measured distance over a given time. The essential data you use are the course you’re following (the direction of travel over the ground), the distance you’ve traveled since the last fix, and the time elapsed. With those, you plot a line from the last known position in the direction of travel for the distance covered in that time, updating as you go. Time helps you keep the distance current, especially if speed changes. Wind, currents, and waves affect your actual position, causing drift, but they aren’t the data used to calculate the DR position itself. The combination of course, distance, and time travelled is what allows you to estimate your position in Dead Reckoning.