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Current
Lesson 11:
Learning Objectives:

Comprehend the causes and general types of
currents.
Apply correct procedures in the use of the Tidal
Current Tables to construct a complete current
table for a locality of interest and to find the
expected current for a particular time or period
of interest.
Know the information on currents contained on
pilot charts and in current diagrams and charts.
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Current
Current - The horizontal movement of water. It is of particular
interest to the navigator because it continually affects ships
movement. Causes of current include:
The primary cause of currents is the rise and fall of the
ocean caused by the gravitational effects of the sun and the
moon.
Heating and cooling caused by the earth's atmosphere
Winds blowing across the surface of the ocean.
Evaporation and rain dilute and salt the ocean which has an
effect on current.
The Coriolis force which is associated with the earth's
rotation. This force causes currents to form giant patterns
of rotation called gyres in each of the major ocean basins
These gyres move in a clockwise direction in the
northern hemisphere, and in a counterclockwise
direction in the southern hemisphere.
First type of current = major ocean currents which are like
rivers in the oceans, but they far surpass any continental
river in size and strength. Ex. Gulf Stream - at its strongest
point is 40 miles wide and 2,000 feet deep, and its carries
100 billion tons of water at a velocity sometimes
approaching five knots.
There are also deep ocean currents which are caused
primarily by water density differences. The deep current
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Current
system is as extensive as the surface current system and is
believed to have been instrumental in shaping the ocean floor in
many areas of the world.
Predicting Ocean Currents - Although Planning Guides and
Sailing Directions contain some information on normal locations
and strengths of currents, the pilot chart is the most valuable
reference for use in predicting the direction and velocity of
ocean currents.
The direction in which the current flows is called set and its
velocity is referred to as drift.
Predicted set and drift can be determined by observing the
green color-coded arrows on the chart. The direction of the
arrows indicate the set while the figures printed nearby
indicate the drift.
Second type of current - The major ocean currents are of
concern to the navigator while out at sea; however, when coastal
waters are entered, tidal currents. This current caused by
primarily by the rise and fall of the tide; coastal waters affected
by tidal currents are often referred to as tidewater areas.
Flood current - tidal current that flows toward shore.
Ebb current - tidal current that flows away from shore.
Slack water - period when there is no horizontal
movement of the water. This period corresponds to the
period when there is no vertical movement of the water
which is known as the stand of the tide.
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Current
The change in tidal current always lags behind the
turning of the tide by an interval of varying length,
depending upon geographic location.
Reversing current Flood current and ebb current are
exactly opposite.
Rotary current Current flows continuously with no
clearly defined ebb or flood (its set moves completely
around the compass during each tide cycle).
Prediction of tidal current - It is important to be able to predict
currents when operating in piloting waters because currents
significantly effect a ships movement. Approaches into some
harbors are impossible for a deep-draft vessel to negotiate when
a current of any appreciable velocity is flowing. Tools available
to the navigator when predicting the effects of current:
Tidal Current Tables are used extensively for current
predictions in the coastal waters of the United States.
A series of tidal current diagrams and charts are also
available for U.S. waters.
British Admiralty-produced coastal approach charts often
contain a graphic known as a current diamond which can be
used in conjunction with the applicable volume of the Tidal
Current Tables.
The Tidal Current Tables consist of two volumes, one titled
Atlantic Coast of North America and the other the Pacific
Coast of North America and Asia.

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Current
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Current
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Current
The appearance of the Tidal Current Tables are similar
to that of the Tide Tables.
The Tidal Current Tables contain daily predictions
of the times of slack water and maximum flood and
ebb current velocities for each of several reference
stations, and they list time and velocity difference
ratios for each of several hundred subordinate
locations.
Each Tidal Current Table is divided into several
numbered tables; the West Coast edition has four
tables, while the East Coast edition has five, one extra
for rotary current predictions.
Table 1 lists, in chronological order, the times and
maximum velocity of each flood and ebb current
and the time of each slack water for all reference
stations used in that volume. Because tidal
currents are caused mainly by tides, there are
usually 4 maximum currents during the tidal day
with a slack water between each current. As in the
Tide Tables, times given are based on the
reference stations standard time zone
Table 2 consists of:
time differences for flood currents, and for the
minimum currents preceding them (usually but
not always slack waters).
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Current
speed ratios, average speed and true direction of
flood and ebb currents, and other useful
information for each subordinate location.
As in the Tide Tables, the subordinate locations
data is arranged in geographic sequence, with an
alphabetic index to Table 2 located in the back of
the volume.
Table 3 is used to find the velocity of current for a
given time at a reference station or subordinate
location. Note that table 3 actually consists of two
tables. Table 3A is used for most computations
while Table 3B is used for locations listed in Table 2
that use Cape Cod Canal, Hell Gate, or the
Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.
Table 4 is used to find the time frame around a
slack water or minimum current within which the
current velocity will be below a desired maximum.
It is made up of two parts, A and B, which are
divided in the same manner as Table 3 .
Table 5 appears only in the Atlantic Coast
volume. It is for use in predicting the set and drift
of an offshore rotary current at 46 locations off the
Atlantic seaboard.
Solving the tidal current prediction problem: standard current
table form is utilized with three specific sections:
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Current
The first section is for constructing a complete current
table for a given location of interest in conjunction with
Tables 1 and 2.
The second section is for computing the velocity of
current for a given time utilizing Table 3.
The third section is for use with Table 4 in finding the
earliest and latest times on each side of a slack water
within which the velocity of current will be below a
specified limit.
Example Problem : Compute the set and drift of the current
at Brooklyn Bridge, NY for 08 OCT utilizing Tables in Hobbs..
Solve for velocity of current at 0900
Solve for duration of slack with desired maximum
velocity of 0.5 kts

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Current
Current diagrams and charts: In addition to tabulated data,
there are several types of graphic aids available to help predict
the set and drift of tidal current. Two of the more widely used of
these are a set of current diagrams included in the Atlantic
Coast Tidal Current Tables and Tidal Current Charts issued by
the NOS.
Atlantic Coast Tidal Current Tables - table is entered by
aligning a parallel ruler along the appropriate ships speed
line located at the monogram to the right. The other edge
of the parallel rule is moved until it intersects the vertical
line that corresponds to the time difference between the
desired time of transit and the time of ebb or flood current
adjacent to the area of interest.
Tidal Current Charts are sets of twelve small-scale charts
of a particular bay, harbor, or sound, which depict the
normal set and drift of the tidal current for each hour after
occurrence of a particular current event at a designated
reference station. The charts show the predicted current at
various locations for each hour after a tidal event; the
arrows represent the set while the adjacent numbers
represent drift.
Boston Harbor, Long Island Sound, Block Island
Sound, Charleston Harbor, etc.
Tidal current diamonds: For predictions of the set and drift in
foreign coastal waters, the applicable Enroute volume of the
Sailing Directions, which contains tidal current diagrams and
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Current
charts for selected ports, foreign-produced equivalents of Tidal
Current Tables and Charts, or charted current information, can
be used.
On charts produced by the British Admiralty, lettered
symbols called Tidal Current Diamonds are printed at
various locations along major channels of interest. The
letters within the diamonds refer to small tables printed on
the chart, which give hourly predictions of set and drift
based on the occurrence of a certain tide event at a
designated reference station, usually high water.
Wind driven currents: When using current predictions from any
source, the navigator must always bear in mind that the
predictions are subject to error during unusual wind or current
conditions. The navigator may wish to combine estimated wind-
driven current vectors with predicted ocean or tidal current
vectors in order to obtain a more accurate prediction of the
actual current.
Table 2 of Current Tables
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Current

Wind: 15
knots
Current: 1
knot
Ships speed: 0 ----- Ship will move in
which direction??
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Current


Homework
Read Chapter 13 - Current
Sailing
Workbook problems
Chapter 12, Section 2, 1A