Plotting and Navigation with Charts

During this week, the junior class studied how to plot navigational routs with tools such as parallel rulers and dividers. These tools helped the students mark coordinate locations on a well thought out and strategized path to reach their final destinations. The dividers allowed the students to measure precise distances from one target to the next by using a scale on a “to-scale” chart. Every specific interval on the paper was equivalent to a nautical mile and helped the students and their peers find exact distances that they needed to travel. In addition to these techniques, the students used compass roses to discover the direction in which they needed to plot their trip, as well as the degrees in which they moved relative to “true north” and “magnetic north”. After plotting their trip on chart paper with meticulous planning and precision, the students will then execute their plan on the Vessel Operations simulator and see if their planning takes them where they desire to go.