Marine Trivia Quiz 192

Compiled by Jim Broadside

1.    Navigators Frenchman Nicolas Baudin and Englishman Matthew Flinders:
-    Met off South Australia
-    Met off South Australia and later in Sydney Harbour
-    Met on the island of Mauritius

2. The VJ sailing boat derived its initials from :
-    Variable Jib
-    Vaucluse Junior
-    Victoire Jeunesse (Young Victory)

3.    Division 1 Handicap honours Queensland CYC Vintage Regatta were won by:
-    Gretel 1 skippered by Frank Packer
-    Tequila skippered by the Walker Brothers
-    Pagan skippered by Peter Kerr

4.    MHWS on some signs means:
-    Mean High Water Springs
-    Minimum Heavy Wash Sector
-    Moorings Here Will Slip

5.    ‘Lagan’ in maritime law means:
-    Vessels wrecked in lagoons with malpractice suspected
-    Any goods lying on the bottom of the sea
-    Naval crew who return after their passes have expired

6.    ‘Long jawed’ is used to describe:
-    Rope that has lost its resilience
-    A sailor who talks incessant nonsense
-    A vessel with its mast(s) behind its centre of buoyancy

7.    An unusual feature of the Panama Canal when built was that:
-    There were no locks
-    Vessels were unable to use their propellers in locks
-    It was close in length to the Suez Canal

8.    ‘Relative bearings’ are:
-    All bearings in the same marine engine
-    Successive bearings in a plotted course
-    Those of objects relative to a vessel’s heading

9.    The largest vessel built for the RAN is:
-    Aircraft Carrier HMAS Melbourne
-    Canberra Class Landing Helicopter Dock
-    Landing Ship Heavy HMAS Tobruk

10.    A ‘Gnomonic Chart’ is one which:
-    Projects great circle arcs as straight lines
-    Lists mnemonics to aid memory
-    Lists sails according to their area and fabric strength

Last month’s winners –  

Timothy Coote, Gardenvale, VIC; Alice Somerville, Blakehurst, NSW.

Answers to Quiz No 191

    1.    Captain Cook was sent to Tahiti in 1769 to support estimates of the size of the solar system using the Transit of Venus. However, the problem was not resolved satisfactorily until after the 1874 & 1882 Transits.

    2.    Captain of HMB Endeavour that observed the transit of Venus from Lord Howe Island was Ross Mattson, who had to take the vessel to sea to ride out rough weather.

    3.    Planet Venus crossed the sun during its recent transit, when observed from earth, from left to right.

    4.    The annual Lord Howe Island BBQ Cruise is most notable for its lack of rules, start point and entry fee. The keynote BBQ draws on community support and contributes to the local school.

    5.    The Morse Code is most notable for its flexibility of use (by wireless, light, or flags). It is also notable for longevity of use (from 1844) and pioneering of acronyms for phrases.

    6.     ‘Cape Horn Fever’ is an imaginary disease attributed to malingers at sea; said to originate from reluctance by early mariners to sign up for a passage of Cape Horn.

    7.    Greenpeace’s replacement for the Ady Gil, sunk following a collision on 6 January 2010, is a similar trimaran style vessel now called MV Brigitte Bardot, registered in Fremantle WA.

    8.    Australian yachties at the Skandia 2012 Sail for Gold Regatta, the last event on the Weymouth course before the London Olympics, won four gold medals and one silver. Gold medals went to Tom Slingsby (Laser), Matthew Belcher and Malcolm Page (470 pair), Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (49er) and Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty (Women’s Match Racers). The silver went to Tom Burton (Laser).

    9.    The RAN’s 723 Squadron has just introduced into service three Bell 429 training, search and rescue and medivac helicopters.

    10.    The founder of the Russian Navy was Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia (1672-1725). He expanded greatly the Russian navy and after a long struggle acquired Sweden’s Baltic provinces.