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ETE Computation

How to Determine Time, Distance and Speed for Sailing

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ROMERO, JOHN CARLO A.
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43 views3 pages

ETE Computation

How to Determine Time, Distance and Speed for Sailing

Uploaded by

ROMERO, JOHN CARLO A.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How to Determine Time, Distance and Speed for

Sailing
Home
How to Determine Time, Distance and . . .

Sailing navigation begins--as does all of navigation--with a good grip on how to use time, distance and
speed. Indeed even the most advanced navigation system uses these same elements to tell you where
you are, calculate the direction you need to steer, and estimate the distance and time you will arrive at a
point some time in the future.

Practice basic navigation skills to understand sailing navigation. These have stood the test of time. All
of navigation begins with an understanding of how to solve for time, distance, or speed. Follow the
steps below to master this essential seamanship skill.

Sailors always want to know one of three questions: What time will you arrive somewhere, how much
further do you have to sail (on one particular course or to a specific destination like an anchorage or
port), or how fast are you sailing. These are the basic "big three" in navigation. Time, Distance, and
Speed. In order to answer any one of these questions, you must know the answer to the other two
questions. Follow the easy steps below.

1. Draw a large triangle.


2. Divide into three sections as shown in the illustration.
3. Place a D (for distance) on the top section. Place an S (for speed) on the bottom left and T (for time)
on the bottom right.
4. Cover the unknown factor with a finger.
5. Divide if you see two vertical factors after you cover the single factor. Multiply if you see just two
horizontal (bottom) factors. Work through these examples:

How to Find TIME

You are sailing at 5 knots and you have 13 miles to go to your destination. It's 1030. What time can you
expect to arrive?
Solution:

Known factors: Distance; Speed. Cover up: Time. Note that you have two vertical factors. That means
you must divide. Divide Speed into Distance and convert to Time. 13 nautical miles / 5 knots = 2.6
hours = 2h 36m. 1030 + 2h 36m = 1306 ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival).

How to Find DISTANCE

You are sailing at 5.5 knots. How far will you travel over the next 24 hours if you are able to maintain
this sailing speed?

Solution:

Known factors: Speed; Time. Cover up: Distance. Note that you have two horizontal factors. That
means you must multiply. Multiply Speed X Time to Find Distance.

5.5 knots X 24 hours = 132 nautical miles.

How to Find SPEED

You are sailing to an anchorage 27 miles away and want to make it there before sunset, which will
occur at 1915 this evening. It's now 1400. What speed do you need to make to get to the anchorage
before sunset?

Solution:

Known factors: Distance; Time. Cover up: Speed. Note that you have two vertical factors. That means
you must divide. Divide Time into Distance to find Speed.

You must always convert odd times into hours and tenths of an hour. In this problem we start at the
destination time and compare it to current time:

1915 -- 1400 = 5h 15m to go to sunset. To convert 15m to hours, we divide by 6 and round off. 15 / 6 =
.25 or .3h. So the total time to go is 5.3 hours. Now you are ready to complete the calculation.

27 nautical miles / 5.3 hours = 5.1 knots. You need to average at least 5.1 knots to make it to your
anchorage by sunset this evening. Easy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Captain John's Sailing Tip


Here's a cool tip from Bill Brogdon, author of 'Navigation for the Rest of Us'. Want to know how long it
will take to travel one nautical mile? Divide the number 60 by your sailing speed. Sailing at 4 knots?
You'll cover one mile in 15 minutes (60 / 4). Going 5 knots? It'll take just 12 minutes to sail one mile
(60 / 5).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now you know how to find your time to an anchorage, distance traveled, or sailing speed fast and easy
with the magic triangle. Practice this often to "keep the rust off" and increase your sailing safety on the
waters of the world--wherever you choose to go sailing!

Captain John taught chart navigation and coastal piloting for over ten years in the classroom, on
ships, and small craft for the US Coast Guard. He has taught celestial navigation and coastal
piloting aboard the 295 foot US Coast Guard square-rigged sail training ship "Eagle" on three
passages to and from Bermuda. He later directed the Seamanship and Chart Navigation
department at the Chapman School of Seamanship in Florida for two years.

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