it improves the estimates because you get multiple estimates over a longer period of time versus getting the same number of estimates over a period of a minute or two.
here is why.
your navigator will give you the estimate at the current speed... not what you have ordered.
so for example - if your bow is burying itself into a roller when you give the order to report range, and at the exact same time your speed is dropping due to hitting head first into the wave... your navigator is giving you an estimate based on that speed... not what you have ordered.
i have seen as much as a 50% margin or error in his estimates because of rough weather.
he once told me something like 6,000 KM and in the very next report some minutes later told me 11,000 Km (give or take)
so getting multiple reports spread out over the span of say 30 minutes to an hour in game is the best practice IMHO.
my process is to order the 4 or 5 estimates over the span of an hour.
then i will average them and subtract 1,000 km
this will give me an estimate with a 1,000 km reserve
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