Check Your Sailing Course with an Easy Compass Diagram 36 1

Sailing 7 years ago 3,228 views

Visit http://www.skippertips.com for more boating safety and sailing tips. Will your sailing steering compass get you home if your GPS bites the dust? Here's a surefire method to determine the sailing course to steer that's faster and less prone to error than most other methods taught today. Captain John with 25+ years of experience shows you the no-nonsense cruising skills you need for safer sailing worldwide. Visit his website at https://www.skippertips.com and sign up for his highly popular Sailing Tip of the Week. Discover how you can gain instant access to hundreds of sailing articles, videos, FREE e-Books and much more!

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Wilfred Darr - 7 years ago

Never bothered with that in my life. West is best, East is least. Add for west, subtract for least, and keep you chart simple. First time I haven't completely agreed with you Captain John. But it may help someone who is having difficulty picturing it…Brings up a question though: do you read your GPS in magnetic or true?

Wilfred Darr - 7 years ago

Captain John's Skipper Tips First of all I must apologise: I was in a bit of a mood last night. It was a good video, but for me, I find the diagram more confusing than the simple formula, and I feel, for myself, it would be more of a liability.
Thank-you for your detailed response to my question. Always felt the GPS was more comfortable in mag, but wasn't sure it was the right answer. Thanks again.

Captain John's Skipper Tips - 7 years ago

That's right. Learning formulas means nothing without explanation. Pictures work best. Gps? magnetic. Plotting on a chart? True. Convert later if necessary. Why? Compass roses on smaller scale charts are all in true direction and have no magnetic ring. The variation is for that specific location only. Also, plotting in magnetic is much more prone to errors. Also, all navigation tables are in true direction - i.e. tidal current direction.

UPGardenr - 7 years ago

You would think it would be 148

Abdul Khan - 7 years ago

Captain John's Skipper Tips
Capt John is an incredibly profound human being. Whosoever follows his tips and apply it in practical sailing shall be the master of the seas.Thnk U so much Capt John for enlightening us with your profound knowledge.

UPGardenr - 7 years ago

Thanks you for reply Helps the newbee's

Wilfred Darr - 7 years ago

UPGardenr I find the diagram counter intuitive, so I always use "East is least, West is best": subtract for 'E', add for 'W'. Maybe this can help you too?

Captain John's Skipper Tips - 7 years ago

Add westerly error to TRUE direction to convert to MAGNETIC direction. In this example, variation is west, so you add the variation to the true course to convert to a magnetic course. Draw a diagram when in doubt.

About Check Your Sailing Course with an Easy Compass Diagram

The "Check Your Sailing Course with an Easy Compass Diagram" video is part of the Sealing, tipps, boating category, which contains similar videos like this one.