Dead Reckoning

Speed, heading and drift

An interactive lesson with 6 steps, about 5 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• Dead reckoning estimates position from speed, heading and time.
• Currents and winds add as vectors.
• Errors accumulate, so regular position fixes are needed.

Steps

1. Navigating by arithmetic
2. Across a current
3. Steer into the current
4. The 1-in-60 rule
5. Distance run
6. Off course