Rhumb-Line Sailing by Computation

Proposals of algorithms for solving Navigation faculty’s problems regarding navigation along rhumb line (loxodrome), for officer trainees and civil students of Faculty of Navigation and Naval Weapons and for deck seamen on operational level, are presented in this paper. Proposals of calculation algorithms given in the article cover simple mathematical totting based on plane sailing (navigational) triangle and Mercator triangle (Mercator sailing). The algorithms refer to traditional methods of solving problems and they do not cover solutions applicable in automated (integrated) navigational systems.

The formulas enable to solve the tasks with a use of electronic calculator and application of traditional methods on plane and sphere, and they also take the Earth’s ellipsoidal shape into consideration.