Navigation Quiz

Navigation is the heart of sailing but not everyone is up to speed. Here’s a fun little navigation quiz to get a feeling for where you are.

• What is datum on a nautical chart?
  1. A formula used to derive the time it will take to sail a given course.You guessing? Incorrect.
  2. A horizontal line intercepted. Gotcha! Wrong…
  3. A nebulas piece of information that is undefined and in question. Definitely not. Very not right!
  4. A reference point for depth soundings. Correct!
• What is “Chart No. 1?”
  1. The chart that represents the most easterly of all charts in a given library. Nope, that answer was designed to deceive.
  2. A legendary nautical chart that historians recognize as what all future charts were essentially based on. Ha ha, no. Take another guess!
  3. A special document that illustrates and explains every notation found on a NOAA chart. But of course! Good work!
  4. A system NOAA recommends that suggests a sailor should label their most frequently used chart as “Chart No. 1.” NOAA doesn’t care about your organizing skills! Incorrect!
• What is the “lubber’s line” on a compass?
  1. An imaginary line going horizontally across the middle of the compass. Not a terrible guess, in the ballpark of right, but it is wrong. Sorry
  2. A physical fix mark on the forward side of the compass bowl. Bingo!
  3. There is no such thing as a “lubber’s line.” Incorrect, there is such thing as a lubber line.
  4. The line that exists directly over the 0 on a compass. Nope, it’s not aligned with any given number.
• What is a nautical mile?
  1. A nautical mile is the length of one minute of latitude. Correctamundo!
  2. A nautical mile is 8,232 feet. A nautical mile is not 8,232-feet.
  3. A nautical mile is the length of one minute of longitude. Close, but no.
  4. A nautical mile is the length of one minute of latitude added to one minute of longitude. Wrong – it’s not that complicated.
• What is a “fix” in navigational terms?
  1. The planned arrival destination. Nope, you can do better.
  2. The amount of distance between two waypoints. No, you stay close to shore or take a nav course.
  3. The navigational process to define a boat’s position. Yes!
  4. The amount of distance between departure and arrival including all tacks and jibes. No no no – hit the books!
• “LOP” stands for:
  1. Latitude of position. Sounds so navigational but that isn’t correct.
  2. Longitude of position. Sounds like it might be right but it isn’t.
  3. Length of portion. No, perhaps it’s lunchtime and you’re hungry and not thinking right.
  4. Line of position. Excellent!
• What is a bearing in navigational terms?
  1. The direction from you to anything else. Yep! Good job!
  2. The route one takes to arrive at a destination. No, but there would be bearings along the way
  3. A bearing is another way of saying “due north.” It is not and that is not the right answer
  4. The completing of a 360-degree circle. Incorrect! Nav training for you! Hurry!