On 12/2/2010 8:47 AM, Darren New wrote:
> Kevin Wampler wrote:
>> speed of the current matches the speed of the boat
>
> I think that means you never get to where you're going. Once the current
> carries you downstream, if you can't outrun the current, you're not
> going to get upstream again.
>

Precisely, but you can still calculate the curve that the boat follows, 
and unless I'm mistaken it's a parabola (in this case restricted to x>0 
rather than x>=0).  It's not strictly within the parameters of the 
problem, but I mentioned it because I couldn't see how to derive the 
full answer without some calculus, but I could get an answer for that 
special case with just geometry.

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