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Mercator Sailing

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Rhumb-line (constant-course) distance and true bearing between two positions using Mercator meridional parts.

Formula

$$ \tan C = \frac{\text{DLo}}{\text{DMP}}, \quad D = \text{DLat} \cdot \sec C $$

Symbol legend

SymbolMeaningUnitSource
$DLo$Difference in longitudemin of arcderived
$DMP$Difference in meridional parts-Norie’s tables
$DLat$Difference in latitudemin of arcderived
$C$Rhumb-line course° trueresult
$D$Rhumb-line distancenmresult

Sources

  • Bowditch Ch.4.
  • Norie’s Nautical Tables.