I am sailing in the direction of the sunset. No, routinely I’m not navigating with the sun, the moon or the stars. Not even with the mechanical compass. My navigation is based on the course over ground (COG). This is automatically calculated from the GPS positions. An electronical (fluxgate) compass supplies the heading information (the direction the bow of the ship is pointing, HDG). The current is pushing me 10-20° to the right (north), since yesterday. This means, I am not really sailing in the direction the bow is pointing at. Sounds confusing? It’s not rocket science. With all the electronic equipment, ships don’t get lost at sea any more these days.
