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Sailing Terms Trivia Quiz

Sailing has its own vocabulary, but many of the terms used will be recognisable. These ones are in common use in the U.K.

A multiple-choice quiz by picqero. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
picqero

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
165,816

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
10 / 15

Plays
1083

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 216 (11/15), Guest 210 (10/15), Guest 46 (0/15).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. Apart from a harbour, port means what? Hint

Left

Front

Right

Back

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Question 2 of 15

2. Which colour indicates Starboard? Hint

Red

Black

Yellow

Green

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Question 3 of 15

3. A Sailing vessel having two masts, the 'aft', i.e. rear mast, being taller than the front (for'ard) mast is called a ______________ .

Answer: (One Word - think of a large glass of sherry?)

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Question 4 of 15

4. The mount used to house the steering compass is called a ________ ? Hint

Binnacle

Spinnaker

Halyard

Windlass

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Question 5 of 15

5. A sailing vessel is said to be "in irons" when it is stationary and pointing directly towards the wind direction, with its sails flapping.

True

False

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Question 6 of 15

6. A "painter" is a short rope used to strap down loose deck items.

True

False

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Question 7 of 15

7. A rope used to hoist or lower a sail is called a ___________ ? Hint

warp

sheet

halyard

stay

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Question 8 of 15

8. When describing navigation lights, "occulting" refers to lights which are defective.

True

False

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Question 9 of 15

9. The fitting on a fore and aft rigged vessel which attaches a boom to a mast is called a ______ ? Hint

gooseneck

elbow

hinge

universal joint

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Question 10 of 15

10. A type of flag flown by foreign vessels visiting another country, while they are in the territorial waters of that country, is known as a ___________ ? Hint

ensign

visitor's flag

courtesy flag

flag of respect

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Question 11 of 15

11. When a vessel is under sail the wind felt by those on board is known as the _________ ? Hint

apparent wind

sailing wind

forward wind

zephyr

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Question 12 of 15

12. North, South, East, and West cardinal navigation buoys are what colours? Hint

black and red

red and white

black and yellow

green and red

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Question 13 of 15

13. When a sailing vessel turns away from the wind direction, it is ________ ? Hint

heaving to

tacking

gybing

running

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Question 14 of 15

14. The guard rail around the bow, i.e. front deck area, is known as "the pulpit".

True

False

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Question 15 of 15

15. The magnetic error caused by iron and steel objects such as the engine, which form integral parts of a vessel is called ______ . Hint

variation

deviation

leeway

compass error

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Most Recent Scores

Oct 21 2024 : Guest 216: 11/15
Oct 16 2024 : Guest 210: 10/15
Oct 02 2024 : Guest 46: 0/15
Sep 28 2024 : Guest 58: 7/15

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Apart from a harbour, port means what?

Answer: Left

"No PORT wine LEFT in the bottle" is the easy way to remember this.

2. Which colour indicates Starboard?

Answer: Green

Starboard is of course "right", so think of "green for go is all right"!

3. A Sailing vessel having two masts, the 'aft', i.e. rear mast, being taller than the front (for'ard) mast is called a ______________ .

Answer: Schooner

Other vessels such as ketches, yawls and brigs also have 2 masts, but do not meet this precise description of the schooner.

4. The mount used to house the steering compass is called a ________ ?

Answer: Binnacle

Halyards are used to hoist and lower sails. A Spinnaker is a large light wind and usually colourful headsail. A windlass is a type of winch.
On smaller vessels the steering compass is normally fixed to the cockpit bulkhead rather than on a separate mount.

5. A sailing vessel is said to be "in irons" when it is stationary and pointing directly towards the wind direction, with its sails flapping.

Answer: True

Yachts usually get "in irons" during a failed turn or course change, but it can happen due to poor steering, or even heavy seas.

6. A "painter" is a short rope used to strap down loose deck items.

Answer: False

It is a short rope used for securing a dinghy, usually attached permanently to the front of the dinghy.

7. A rope used to hoist or lower a sail is called a ___________ ?

Answer: halyard

Halyard comes from "Haul Yard" which refers to the wood spars supporting the sails of Square Riggers.

8. When describing navigation lights, "occulting" refers to lights which are defective.

Answer: False

It refers to navigation lights on buoys, lighthouses or harbour entrances which have a regular light pattern, where the light is more ON than OFF.

9. The fitting on a fore and aft rigged vessel which attaches a boom to a mast is called a ______ ?

Answer: gooseneck

It allows the boom - which is the long spar supporting the bottom of the sail - to swing easily from side to side.

10. A type of flag flown by foreign vessels visiting another country, while they are in the territorial waters of that country, is known as a ___________ ?

Answer: courtesy flag

Courtesy flags are an old and well established maritime tradition. Failure to fly a courtesy flag can be taken as an insult in some countries, resulting in serious trouble! The courtesy flag is usually flown above any other flags.

11. When a vessel is under sail the wind felt by those on board is known as the _________ ?

Answer: apparent wind

The apparent wind is due to the vessel's motion through the water, and is only the same as the true wind when the vessel is stationary.

12. North, South, East, and West cardinal navigation buoys are what colours?

Answer: black and yellow

Cardinal buoys are very important in navigation as they are positioned to indicate underwater hazards.
North cardinals are black on top and yellow on bottom. South cardinals are yellow on top and black at bottom. East cardinals are black at top and bottom and yellow in centre. West cardinals are yellow at top and bottom and black in centre.

13. When a sailing vessel turns away from the wind direction, it is ________ ?

Answer: gybing

Tacking is turning into and through the wind. Running is sailing with the wind behind the vessel. "Heaving to" is a method of temporarily stopping a vessel with the sails still fully set.

14. The guard rail around the bow, i.e. front deck area, is known as "the pulpit".

Answer: True

This may be a slang expression, but it's in common use. Named for it's resemblance to the position taken by a priest when leading a church service!

15. The magnetic error caused by iron and steel objects such as the engine, which form integral parts of a vessel is called ______ .

Answer: deviation

Variation is the effect of the Earth's magnetic field, and varies throughout the world. Leeway is the sideways drift of a sailing vessel caused by the wind; the further forward the wind direction, the greater the leeway. Compass error is simply the combination of variation and deviation - which can sometimes cancel each other out!

Source: Author picqero

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ozzz2002 before going online.
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