UNIT 22

PLANNING THE TRACK( rotta)

Navigating means “ directing the ship from a starting point to the destination”( from
the Latin: navis = ship + agere= move and direct)

The navigator plans the course before starting the journey in order to follow the
shortest and safest route to his destination. So he uses nautical charts, radio
bulletins, weather maps referring to the areas where the ship will sail.

The track ( looks like a broken line on the chart)is the ship’s planned course. The
legs ( tratti)of the track( TR) are the segments into which the track line appears
broken on the chart. Tracks legs meet at a junction point, where the ship's
directions has to be changed.

Vedi English nautical terms pg 199 ( ex 2)

THE DEAD RECKONING PLOT ( è il processo mediante il quale la propria posizione

attuale viene calcolata utilizzando una posizione precedentemente ottenuta)

- Plotting a DR Course (tracciare un corso DR)

Navigating by dead reckoning involves calculating a new position or positions from

a known departure point using estimates of speed, course and elapsed time. The DR
course is plotted on the chart with a series of DR positions and may indicate the
intended path of travel. (La navigazione in base al dead reckoning implica il calcolo di
una o più nuove posizioni da un punto di partenza noto utilizzando stime di velocità, rotta e
tempo trascorso. Il percorso DR è tracciato sulla carta con una serie di posizioni DR e può
indicare il percorso di viaggio previsto)

A DR course should be plotted, in advance, or from the moment a boat leaves

harbour or weighs anchor, until safe arrival at its destination. The plotted course
allows the navigator to avoid hazards and plan and monitor an efficient route. (Una
rotta DR dovrebbe essere tracciata, in anticipo, o dal momento in cui una barca lascia il
porto o salpa l'ancora, fino all'arrivo sicuro a destinazione. La rotta tracciata consente al
navigatore di evitare pericoli e pianificare e monitorare un percorso efficiente.

- Starting With a Fix

A navigator's prime concern is to know the boat's position at all times.(La principale
preoccupazione di un navigatore è conoscere in ogni momento la posizione
dell'imbarcazione.) 

A fix is a position of which the navigator is highly confident. The act of establishing
a fix is called "getting a fix" or "fixing a position".

Important: A dead reckoning (DR) course always begins at a fix( punto nave)
The Dead reckoning plot : a technique to determine a ship’s approximate position
by applying to the last established position ( the last fix) a vector or a series of
vectors, which represent true courses and speed.

The direction of the course line represents the ship’s ordered true course.

While a fix is labelled with a circle, a DR position is labelled with SEMICIRCLES.

TRACK LINES AND DR PLOTS

The track line is a sort of pre-planned DR plot, to which the navigator refers when he
draws the real DR plot during navigation. When the navigator draws the track line,
he calculates in advance the times at which the ship will reach each junction point
on the track.

A DR plot is always plotted relative to some pre-planned track.