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-   -   Sailing (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=544468)

  • Jan 15, 2011, 09:11 PM
    foxcute
    Sailing
    Your vsl I'm making through the water of 14kts... your vsl traveled 30nm in 2hrs and 24mins..
    What current are you experiencing?
    The answer is head current of 1.5kts.. I need the formula... *** help.tnx
  • Jan 15, 2011, 09:41 PM
    jcaron2
    What's the relationship between distance, rate, and time?

    You have the distance traveled, and you have the time. So if you can answer that question, you can calculate the actual speed you traveled. Since you also know the speed you appear to be going relative to the water (14 knots), the speed of the current must be the difference between the two.

  • Jan 15, 2011, 10:18 PM
    jcaron2
    Don't give me a "No" rating because you're too lazy to look up the relationship between distance, rate, and time. A three-year-old can find the answer to that with a Google search.

    We're here to HELP you with your homework, not do it for you.

    So I ask you again, what's the INCREDIBLY SIMPLE formula relating distance, rate, and time? If it's not in your textbook, as I said, you can find the answer within seconds on any search engine.

    Once you have that formula, all you need to do is find the difference between your actual speed (from the formula) and the speed you thought you were going (relative to the water).

    And just in case it's unfamiliar to you, "nm" means nautical miles, a unit of distance a little longer than a standard mile. "Kts" or "knots" is the same thing as nautical miles per hour (i.e. speed). You can pretend that the distance is miles and the speed is in mph if that makes it less confusing.
  • Jan 16, 2011, 12:36 AM
    Unknown008

    foxcute, I'll have to tell you to read the rules about giving thumbs up or down for the forum. Negative rating is used for factually incorrect posts, not posts that didn't give you an answer, because we aren't a question/answer site, but a help site.

    Did you at least read the post of jcaron? The formula you asked for is indeed in his post, but stated in words.

    Quote:
    Since you also know the speed you appear to be going relative to the water (14 knots), the speed of the current must be the difference between the two.
    Which means:

    Speed of current = Apparent speed - True speed

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