Marine Trivia Quiz 148

Compiled by Jim Broadside

 1. Access to 2008 Club Marine Mandurah Boat Show WA was enhanced by:

  _ Diversion of some Rottenest Island Ferry services
  _ The new rail line from Perth and complimentary buses
  _ Discounted taxi vouchers

2. The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has announced:
  _ An organised cruise to Hobart January-February 2009
  _ Launch of a history in March 2009
   _ Significant renovations to its premises

3. Sunscreen use-by dates are valid:
  _ Irrespective of the temperature at which it is stored
  _ If the product has been stored at less than 25°C
  _ If the product is stored with the cap uppermost

4. The brigantine Mary Celeste was eventually lost:
  _ In a storm off the Azores
  _ By fire set as part of an attempted insurance fraud
  _ To pirates in the Caribbean

5. An anemometer measures:
  _ Temperature of the wind
  _ Air pressure
  _ Velocity of the wind

6. A ‘Banyan Day’ in the English Navy was:
  _ One on which no meat was consumed
  _ A day on which fig-based spirits were consumed
  _ A day when no saluting would take Place

7. The cause of scurvy was a deficiency of:
   _ Vitamin B
  _ Vitamin C
  _ Vitamin E

8. To ‘trice up’ is to:
  _ Issue 3 warnings to a lazy sailor
  _ To haul up in order to make something more secure
  _ Require 3 galley sittings for the same meal

9. A ‘thole pin’ is:
  _ A wooden peg or pegs substituting as a rowlock
  _ Injured sailors’ pain aggravated by vessel movements
  _ A means of recording bar purchases

 10. Number of yachts nominated for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2008 was:
  _ 103
  _ 112
  _ 105

Last month’s winners –

Brian Wilson, Lindfield, NSW; Keith Holle, Taren Point, NSW; Gerald Mason, Drummoyne, NSW.

Answers to Quiz No 147

  1. The RAN facility at Jervis Bay NSW is HMAS Creswell. All naval officers complete officer training (throughout their studies) at HMAS Creswell, which also includes time at sea.
  2. Winner of the recent Meriden Marinas Airlie Beach (Qld) Race Week Sports Boats championship was Quantum Sails, crewed by Neil Sherring and Troy Ruston (Qld).
  3. A marine sextant is capable of measuring angles up to 120 degrees. It was developed from the quadrant, which could measure only up to 90 degrees.
  4. A ‘skeat’ is a long handled dipper used to wet the sides of a vessel in hot weather, or to wet sails so they hold a breeze better.
  5. A ‘snatch block’ is a rope block with a hinged opening above the pulley that allows the rope to be dropped in.
  6. A boat is ‘close hauled’ when sailing as close as possible into the wind.
  7. A ‘golliwobbler’ is a large light weather jib, usually quadrilateral.  8. Horatio Nelson married Fanny Nisbet in 1787.
  9. Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840–1914) is best known for his many writings on the influence of sea power on history.
  10. A ‘standard’ nautical mile at 6080 feet is longer than a ‘shore’ mile which is 5280 feet (1760 yards).