Sailing Navigation - Navigational Elements & Terms

• Position
  You can direct the Sailboat to another direction if you know its exact and current position. The Position can be stated in terms of coordinates of longitude and latitude of an imaginary grid on the surface of the earth.


• Distance
  This is another important element of Navigation. Between two points, the length of the straight line connecting them is what we call Distance. It is measured in terms of nautical miles. This is the unit of distance at sea which is equivalent to 1852 meters (international nautical mile). A nautical mile is likewise defined as one minute of latitude (1').


• Direction
  This element can be described as the spatial relation between the vessel and the course or path along which it moves. It is usually measured according to the angular distance of the vessel from true north or magnetic north (referenced direction).


• True north - the direction you need to travel in order to reach the top of the globe (North Pole)
• Magnetic north - the direction of the magnetic North Pole; the direction a compass points; a magnetic compass determines where north is
• Time
  As far as Sailing is concerned, Time refers to the hour of the day in relation to a line of longitude.

• Piloting - the visual or electronic way of navigating: done near land and involves the use of Compass or Charts to determine the vessel's Position, etc.; also called Pilotage
• Dead Reckoning - a way of estimating the vessel's Position based on different factors such as speed, Compass directions, and Distance traveled
• Knot - this is the unit of speed at sea; one nautical mile/hr is one knot
• Bearing - the direction of an object from the vessel
• Heading - with the aid of a Compass, this is the direction to which you are maneuvering the vessel