|| Starpath online classroom || Electronic Navigation Glossary || Glossary Index || Home ||

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

activate a route Activate a route (or pathway) actually means activate a specific waypoint that is part of a route. Without further specification, the default is to activate the first waypoint in the route, but that can then be changed to the "next waypoint" or indeed to any one of them in the route. The active waypoint is the one you are navigating toward. Generally there will be an extra line on the chart between your vessel icon and that mark. We can set up meters that read the distance to the next waypoint (DNM = distance to the next mark in qtVlm terminology) and course to the next waypoint (CNM), as well as what progress we are making toward that waypoint, which is called velocity made course (VMC). The activated waypoint also defines the track you intend to follow, which is the straight line from the previous waypoint to the active waypoint. We can also have a meter to show how far off of this track we are at any moment, called the cross-track error (XTE).

[close window]