Spinnaker Sailing
Navigation and Weather Quiz
These questions and their answers are gleaned from the USCG Mariners Tests, and we trust in them for their accuracy. There are over 700 questions regarding weather and navigation here and all quiz questions are picked randomly. Questions are graded individually and you do not have to answer all questions to check your answers. Don't be discouraged if you miss a few questions, some of them are pretty hard. However, the more you take this test the more you will learn!
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Question 1 - The length of a wave is the length ...
) of the wave's crest
) of the wave's trough
) measured from crest to trough
) measured from crest to crest

Question 2 - With the passage of an occluded front the temperature ...
) rises rapidly
) remains about the same
) drops rapidly
) depends on whether warm type or cold type occlusion

Question 3 - When outbound from a U.S. port, a buoy displaying a flashing red light indicates ...
) a junction with the preferred channel to the left
) a sharp turn in the channel to the right
) the port side of the channel
) a wreck to be left on the vessel's starboard side

Question 4 - A lighted preferred-channel buoy may show a ...
) fixed red light
) Morse (A) white light
) composite group-flashing light
) yellow light

Question 5 - What indicates the arrival of a hurricane within 24 to 36 hours?
) The normal swell becoming lower and from a steady direction
) Long bands of nimbostratus clouds radiating from a point over the horizon
) The barometer drops 2 millibars between 1000 and 1600
) Unusually good weather with above average pressures followed by a slow fall of 4 millibars in six hours

Question 6 - In the Northern Hemisphere, winds veering sharply to the west or northwest with increasing speed are indications that a ...
) cold front has passed
) low pressure center is approaching
) stationary front exists
) high pressure center has passed

Question 7 - Chart correction information is NOT disseminated through the ...
) Summary of Corrections
) Local Notice to Mariners
) Daily Memorandum
) Chart Correction Card

Question 8 - What is the most important source of information to be used in correcting charts and keeping them up to date?
) Fleet Guides
) Notice to Mariners
) Sailing Directions
) Pilot Charts

Question 9 - A latitude line will be obtained by observing a body ...
) on the prime vertical
) on the celestial horizon
) at lower transit
) on the Greenwich meridian

Question 10 - On 25 December 1981 you observe the Sun's lower limb. The sextant altitude (hs) is 4°06.9'. The height of eye is 47 feet and the index error is 1.6' on the arc. The temperature is 19° F. and the barometer reads 1030.8 millibars. What is the observed altitude (Ho)?
) 3°57.4'
) 4°01.9'
) 4°02.5'
) 4°03.4'