Great circle/rhumb line

[Plumper]

I am not sure what you mean.

[sailaway21]

davsails,
I think you're looking for a pilot chart as discussed previously. The northern route would be from either Ambrose Light or Halifax to Bishop Rock via Great Circle and I presume the southern route would be via GC to the Azores and thence England via the Bay of Biscay.

[Plumper]

If routing from west to east is what you are looking for, here is what my Ocean Passages for the World - Sailing Routes says:

From ports on the western side of the Atlantic

For the English Channel - owing to the prevailing fairwinds and favourable currents, great circle or rhumb line courses may be steered as desired, provided that care is taken to avoid ice.

Yes, that is all it says.

My World Cruising Routes by Jimmy Cornell says:

Rhumbline to south of Sable island, 43°30' N 60°00' W (Only if there are no reports of ice) then great circle to 49°55' N 5°10' W (Liward Light) the coastal up the channel. Distance - 2480nm

Best time: June to August
Tropical Storms: June to November

A cold, wet, and foggy route at the best of times, at least it has the advantage of both favourable winds and current. Two main causes for concern:fog and ice. Therefore the latter part of the summer seems to be safer and the recommended time for this passage is August.

You should go to the library and read the book yourself. Lots of info.

Gaz

[davsails]

Thanks for tour help..I will go to the library and check that out.

[tjaldur]

One can draw a line on Google Earth, and make a note of the coordinates each 50 NM to get a waypoint. The course will change 1 degree/50NM approximately. One can of course also campare the length of the line drawn in Google Earth with a line drawn in a Mercator chart. From Norway to Miami the distance is about 4000 NM and the difference between Great Circle and loxodromoic course is about 200 NM. Sailing with a speed around 5 knots, I believe that i my case the current and drift will be much more important to consider.