The great sea tea

A seafarer’s quiz
1. Decide in advance how many teams you can accommodate, how you will seat
them and how much you will charge. Teams of four work quite well and, with
basic refreshment at the interval, you might charge £5 or £6 per team. With, say,
20 teams and with any prizes and refreshments donated, this would give you an
income of £100/£120.
2. Decide on what refreshment to offer at the interval. Tea or coffee and biscuits or
perhaps a ploughman’s meal (on cardboard plates!) or something more elaborate if
you wish. Adjust the charge accordingly. Decide whether to provide drinks (and, if
so, how to serve them) or whether to allow teams to bring their own.

3. Persuade local businesses or individuals to provide prizes or to meet the cost of

refreshments. Remember that with teams of four, a prize which can be shared is a
good idea. Acknowledge this generosity in the publicity for the event.

4. Helpers. You will need:

A quiz master – with a strong clear voice.

A scorer – to mark each round while the subsequent round is taking place.

A recorder – to record each score and a running total for each team

At least two stewards – to collect the team sheets after each round and give to the
scorer.

Those involved in refreshments and washing up

5. Plan for a break for refreshments - say, after round five. Don’t let the quizmaster
allow teams too much time for each answer. Remember, allowing only one
minute for each answer, plus a few minutes for collecting the answer sheets and
announcing the scores, builds up to about 15 minutes per round. With a break for
refreshments, this could give a total evening of three hours. If you think this is too
long, consider cutting out one or two rounds.
6. Prepare enough answer sheets - with space for each team name, the round number
and spaces 1 – 6 for answers.

Also, prepare sheets for the scorer and recorder to register the result of each round
for each team and to keep the cumulative score as the quiz progresses. Announce
the scores and the totals for each team after the subsequent round (i.e. after round
three – give the result of round two and the team totals so far.)

7. In publicising the quiz, stress that it is a “fun evening”. Try to avoid

people taking it too seriously.
The great sea tea quiz
Round one – parts of ship
1. What is the name given to the kitchen or cooking area on board?
2. On board, what name is given to a flight of stairs or steps?
3. The interior of a ship is divided by partitions or walls. What are they called?
4. Name the rear end of a ship.

Round one – answers

1. The galley
2. A companionway
3. Bulkheads
4. Stern

Round two – ports and countries

1. Bristol, in England, is a port, but seagoing vessels cannot reach it. What is the name of
the port of Bristol?
2. A container ship travels from the port of Inchon (Seoul) to the port of Rotterdam.
From which country does the ship sail?
3. Name the famous naval anchorage in the Orkney Islands
4. A Mission to Seafarers chaplain is based in the port of Mombasa. In which country
does he work?

Round two answers

1. Avonmouth (or Portbury)
2. Korea
3. Scapa Flow
4. Kenya

Round three – oceans and seas

1. Which ocean contains the islands of Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and the
Maldives?
2. In which half, of which ocean, is the island of Bermuda?
3. In which ocean is it possible to travel entirely round the world on one line of latitude?
4. Which sea lies on the east coast of Italy?

Round three answers

1. Indian Ocean
2. North Atlantic
3. Southern Ocean
4. Adriatic
Round four – connections
1. What is the name of the strait which separates the two islands of New Zealand?
2. Which stretch of water joins the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean?
3. Which canal links part of the Ionian Sea to part of the Aegean Sea?
4. Two areas of water join the North Sea to the Baltic Sea. Name one of them.

Round four – answers

1. Cook
2. English Channel
3. Corinth Canal
4. Skaggerak/Kattegat

Round five – terms and meanings

1. The right hand side of the ship looking forward.
2. When thin line is wrapped round a rope end to stop it fraying.
3. The captain wishes to meet you at 6 bells in the afternoon watch. What time is that on
your clock?
4. What is the name given to a tide which has the most marked rise and fall?

Round five – answers

1. Starboard
2. Whipping
3. 3pm or 1500 hours
4. Spring Tide

Round six – names and nicknames

1. In the Royal Navy what rank is indicated by four gold rings on the sleeve, and gold
braid on the peak of the cap?
2. If a seaman’s surname is Miller, what is his nickname likely to be?
3. What is the slang name for a signalman in the Royal Navy?
4. What name is given to the flag supposed to be flown by pirates?

Round six – answers.

1. Captain
2. Dusty
3. Bunting Tosser or Bunts
4. Jolly Roger
Round seven – voyages and voyagers
1. Thor Heyerdahl sailed a balsa raft – Kon Tiki – across which stretch of water?
2. In which ship did Captain Ahab search for Moby Dick?
3. Christopher Columbus is credited with the discovery of America. How many ships
made up his fleet? Name One!
4. What fictional character voyaged beneath the seas in the Nautilus?

Round seven – answers

1. Pacific Ocean
2. The Pequod
3. Three – Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria
4. Captain Nemo

Round eight – famous ships

1. What was the name of the ship in which Captain Cook discovered Australia?
2. The Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth were famous liners. Which one had three
funnels?
3. Name the American submarine which was the first vessel to travel under the ice at the
North Pole.
4. When Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the world at the end of the 16th century,
what was the name of his ship?

Round eight – answers

1. Endeavour
2. Queen Mary
3. Nautilus
4. Golden Hind

Round nine – seas and the Bible

1. The Sea of Galilee is also known as the Sea of .................?
2. When Noah was afloat in the Ark, which bird did he release first to see if dry land had
appeared?
3. On his journey to Rome Paul was shipwrecked. On which island?
4. In the story of Creation, which came first, sea or land?

Round nine – answers

1. Tiberias (or Chinnereth)
2. A raven
3. Malta
4. Sea
Round ten – great names
1. Which seafarer went from England to discover Newfoundland and to explore the
northern part of the American Continent?
2. Which British Admiral devised a means of measuring wind speed which is still used
today?
3. Name the daughter of a lighthouse keeper on the North East coast of England who
became famous for attempting to save lives.
4. Who designed and built the first British steamship liners?

Round ten – answers

1. John Cabot
2. Beaufort
3. Grace Darling
4. Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Tie break or bonus questions

1. Who founded The Missions to Seafarers in the early 19th century?
2. In which area of Britain did this happen?
3. What was the name of the first mission cutter – with a chapel on board?
4. What is the image, taken from a verse in the Book of Revelation which has become
the insignia on the Mission’s flag and by which the Mission is known to seafarers
today?
5. Who is the current President of the Mission to Seafarers?

Tie Break – answers

1. John Ashley
2. The Bristol Channel
3. Eirene
4. The Flying Angel
5. The Princess Royal

The Mission to Seafarers, St Michael Paternoster Royal, College Hill, London EC4R 2RL
Tel: 020 7248 5202 Fax: 020 7248 4761
Email: fundraising@missiontoseafarers.org Website: www.missiontoseafarers.org
Registered charity no: 212432