Saturday, October 3, 2015

Course, heading and bearing

What is the difference between course, heading and bearing?


It is quite simple but not so simple to remember....

Course... 

has nothing to do with you. It has nothing to do with where you are. It has nothing to do with where you want to go. And, it has nothing to do with where you are going. It is the azimuth, or compass direction, between two points on the map.


The COURSE between Sydney Australia and Tasmania is SSW. If you are on the moon, destined for Venus, the COURSE between Sydney Australia and Tasmania is SSW. If you are in London heading for Paris, the COURSE between Sydney Australia and Tasmania is SSW. If you are at home on your sofa watching a soccer match, the COURSE between Sydney Australia and Tasmania is SSW.



Heading... 

has nothing to do with where you are or where you want to go. It is the azimuth, or compass direction that you are traveling. It is where your HEAD is going. It is where you are heading, regardless of maps, courses and bearings.


If you are in Sydney and want to go to Tasmania, but you are travelling towards Moscow, your heading is NW.



Bearing... 

has everything to do with where you are and where you want to get to. It is the azimuth, or compass direction, that you should be travelling if you want to get from where you are to where you want to be.

If you are in Sydney Australia and you want to get to Moscow, your bearing is NW. If you are heading towards Tasmania on a SSW heading, you need to turn. To get to Moscow, your bearing is NW.

Course, heading and bearing