The A•B•Sea Nautical Trivia Quiz (Basic)

Welcome to Barefoot Yachts The A•B•Sea Nautical Trivia Quiz (Basic)

The quiz is mostly drawn from the contents of A B Sea: A loose-footed lexicon published by Sheridan House. Please enter your name and email address so we can email you your results. Don't worry, your email is safe with us.

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You are sailing at night and ahead you can see two short flashing lights. What are you looking at?

An isolated danger mark

A safe water mark (fairway).

An East cardinal mark

How many oceans are there on Planet Earth? (Do not combine north and south varieties.)

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Which sea is the deepest?

The Pacific

The Caribbean

The Atlantic

The Baltic

What is Buys Ballot's Law?

A means of measuring the maximum speed of a displacement vessel according to its length on the waterline

A law enacted to encourage gerrymandering in political elections

A way of calculating where a Plimsol Line should be painted

A means of determining the centre of an area of low pressure in prevailing weather conditions

What is a bulkhead?

A high capacity toilet

An interior wall in a yacht or ship

A place in the bow to secure an anchor

The widest part of the bow

A 'bend' is...

A method of securing one line (rope) to another

The curve between the waterline and bow of a boat.

Another name for the rake of a mast under strain.

Which wind speed is associated with Force 5 weather conditions?

11-16 knots

7-10 knots

17-21 knots

34-40 knots

The 'schooner' was invented in which country?

The United States (according to U.S. sources)

Holland

Australia

Switzerland

What does CARD stand for?

Collision Avoidance Radar Detector

Cord and Rope Demarcation

Cartographer's Association for Radial Declination

Conceptually Advanced Racing Design

10.

What does 'all standing' mean?

All the crew are on deck during the dog watch

All the sails are set

All the masts are still upright

11.

What was the name of the boat in which Captain Joshua Slocum circumnavigated the world?

Stray

Starry

Spray

My Lively Lady

12.

How much of the planet Earth is covered by salt water?

61%

67.8%

71%

81%

13.

The word 'derrick' means a spar, at the end of which is a tackle used for lifting heavy objects. From where does the word 'derrick' originate?

From the Old Norse word 'daeryk' meaning a spar from which monks were hung

After a famous 16th century hangman who performed at Tyburn (now Marble Arch) in London

From the astronomer's name for the 'arm' or 'handle' of the Big Dipper (Ursa Major, the Plough, the Great Bear).

None of the above

14.

The 'starboard' side of a boat is so-called because...

It is the side from which the elevation of stars was measured by the navigator.

It is always the windward side of the vessel.

It is the side on which the 'steering board' was fitted in the days before the rudder came into common use.

15.

What is Mercator famous for?

The projection used on all (or almost all) those charts in the navigation table

The adoption of the Bermuda rig for most sail boats

Being Belgian

16.

What is a 'line'?

A channel on your satellite telephone?

The remarkable story you were just told by the guy next to you in the marina bar?

Any rope, cord or cable on a boat

The Equator

17.

What is the 'pitch' of a propeller?

The frequency of the sound it makes while running

The distance it travels forward (or backward) in one revolution

The distance it travels sideways when in reverse

18.

When a wind 'veers' its...

Direction changes clockwise

Direction changes counter-clockwise

Speed increases

Speed decreases

19.

The Tropic of Cancer is...

33.5 degrees North of the Equator.

25.3 degrees South of the Equator.

21.5 degrees North of the Equator.

23.5 degrees North of the Equator.

20.

Which is not the name of an anchor?

Northill

Atlas

Danforth

CQR

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Nautical Trivia Quiz

This quiz is mostly drawn from the contents of A B Sea: A loose-footed lexicon – by Jack Lagan