Nautical Nonsense Trivia Quiz

Answer: A Whip

A cat is short for a cat-o'-nine-tails. A cat is a type of whip that has 9 whips attached (thus the name, a "cat [whip] with nine tails"). Floggings were shown to all the crew; and sometimes the ship got crowded, and the flogger did not have enough room to swing his cat at the victim. Thus, the phrase.

The "captain's daughter" is also a cat, but is only issued and used by the captain.

Answer: A large type of ship

You might have heard the phrase "to give a wide berth". This is based on the word "berth" used in navigation, which is the distance between two ships at sea as a safety. A berth is also the location where mooring ships not at sea can port. Finally, it can also be a bed on a ship.

Answer: Dolphin

A dolphin is not only a marine mammal, it is also a word for a marker driven into the seabed. It isn't a buoy in that it does not float. Instead, it is a structure actually attached to the floor of the sea, but is not connected to the mainland in any way.

Answer: From fingertip to fingertip if you outstretch your arms

The average man's arm-span (from fingertip to fingertip) is six feet (1.8 meters) in length. This is what is known as a "fathom" in nautical terms. So, therefore, if something is 100 fathoms deep, it is approximately 600 feet (180 meters) deep.

Answer: Rum

"Where has all the rum gone?" - Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp)

Grog is a drink that was made by mixing half rum with half water. This was because rum was running out, and Admiral Vernon (nicknamed "Old Grogram") ordered the rum to be watered down. The drink was then named after his nickname, which was given because he always wore grogram coats.

Answer: Jigger-mast

The jigger-mast is the fourth mast on a ship, and is often much smaller than the others. The third mast on a ship, the mizzen-mast, is bigger than the jigger-mast but smaller than the fore-mast and main-mast. Both masts are aft of the two main masts.

The main-mast is the biggest mast, and located near the center of the ship. The fore-mast is named so because it is fore of the main-mast. It is smaller than the main-mast but larger than both the jigger-mast and the mizzen-mast. It is the first mast.

Answer: Type of knot

A monkey's fist is a knot that is named so because it looks like a small set of fisted hands, resembling a monkey's paws. "Monkey Paw" is a story about a real monkey's paw that moves on its own and grants wishes (but rather literally).

Answer: Planing

You might have experienced planing yourself and on land; but we call it hydroplaning. This is when a wheeled vehicle is moving fast enough to skim over the water on the road. Water has enough "bounce" that at certain speeds, you ride on top of it rather than on the actual road.

In the water, boats can plane too. You might have seen a speedboat "glide" across the water, but it's just planing. And yes, some planes do plane.

Answer: Starboard

Starboard is the right of the ship, and port is the left. Fore is the front of the ship, and aft is in the back.

To remember which is which, think of FAPS and remember the order "front, back, left, right". It will also help to think of fore as being foreward, and being listed first... So it's front and back first, then left and right (front is fore, back is aft, left is port, and right is starboard, or FAPS). And if that doesn't help... Oh well.

Answer: Serving a watch that is exposed to wind and spray

If someone is "under the weather", they are on watch duty. This particular duty, however, is in a certain position on a ship; when it is windy, ocean spray blows onto the deck. This watch position is right where the poor watcher will be hit by all the wind and spray; thus, he is "under the weather".

This often made that person sick, which is why we use the term "under the weather" to mean ill.