Nice memory Jumpugly.

After three years in Hawaii when I was a boy while my dad was in Vietnam, if I’d gotten this one wrong my native friends would’ve been very angry with me! Mahalo!

My boyhood house with Mount Olomana in the background. 👍

I liked the question.
Ships from the Far East and Oceania are usually overlooked.
I consider myself a ship and naval enthusiast (certainly not an expert, just an avid reader), but I must confess that I know very little about the Eastern world.

I hope that in the future the AI ​​will focus on ships that have been ignored (partially or totally).
I'd love questions about ships from the classical era, such as liburnians, triremes, and quinqueremes, etc.
I'd love questions about the ships that dominated the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, such as the dromons of the Eastern Roman Empire (with their secret weapon of Greek fire) or galleys and galleasses.

Good morning, I believe that even if you're completely ignorant of the mathematical concept of intercepts and completely unfamiliar with the Sant Hilaire method, you can easily arrive at the correct solution if you understand the basic concept and definition of latitude.
I don't want to give a tip and ruin the fun of the game, but just think about what latitude is (you can easily ignore everything else). Well, if I only get the latitude wrong, where will the error extend? There's only one answer, and it's very simple.

In fact, although it seems like a very difficult question, the percentage of correct answers is very high.

That particular navigational technique has served me well in the past, it's got me safely across our lake many a time...

I didn't even understand the question - looked for common words in the answers, and by a fluke it was right - still doesn't make any sense to me, but then mayhbe the grey cells are aging too fast. As others have said, interesting to see how you get a model boat far enough out to sea and with someone on board to use this method.😁

Not sure if I need this method of navigation when finding the position of my boat on the pond. 😁. I had to read the question about twenty times before it sunk in, or is it sank in ? Then I did a simple drawing 😁

I looked up this method of calculating ones position at sea. The system which until now was unknown to me, then used the diagrams to work out an answer.
This question is really a niche one, however, it is one you can learn from.

Roy

This one is over the top, the only reason that I got it correct was that a week or so ago I was discussing the use of a sextant with a friend and got out “the gospel according to Mr Letcher” and refreshed my memory over the next few evenings, why I don’t know, but I must have sensed this comming.🤣

That is a very difficult question I doubt whether a newly qualified PWO(N) could answer these days

Still more questions on sailing, ???.
I am really lucky at the moment getting these correct.
And I am not using Mr Google for help.
At the moment we are away in the motor home, so I wouldn’t know how to connect to two different devices at the same time.
It’s hard enough working it on one device for me let alone trying to do it on two devices together.🙄🙄

Thanks again, Nick, now I have the complete picture.

I've noticed that my initial statement is also true in your navy. Essentially, the corvette (which was mentioned in the previous question of the day) doesn't have a dedicated letter. It's designated with an F most often, or a P, or a k (now I know thanks to you), and perhaps other letters.

And A for auxilliaries.l, eg RFA vessels. Allesandro, Flower Class were built in Canada and the UK, the Canadian ships named after small Canadian cities...

Not forgetting the T prefix on armed trawlers
🤔

Thanks, Nick and Pat, and hello to all ship modelers.

Nick, you were very clear, now I understand what K stands for. I honestly didn't know or forgot.

Regarding the photo of the ship K181, online it appears to be the HMCS Sackville, which is a Royal Canadian Navy ship, not a Royal Navy ship.
Is it possible that it's an identical ship, or is this a Wikipedia error?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Sackville

To clarify - a picture is better than a thousand words

Hi Allesandro. I think you might find this helpful. Copied directly from the Internet...
"On a Royal Navy Flower-class corvette's pennant number, the "K" prefix designated miscellaneous vessels within the naval classification system, though Flower-class corvettes were often designated with an "F" for frigate-like vessels as well. However, many Flower-class corvettes, such as HMS Sunflower (K41), did indeed have the "K" prefix.
The Pennant Numbering System Explained
The Royal Navy's pennant numbering system used a letter prefix to categorize ships by their class or function.
F - Frigates:
This prefix was often used for corvettes, which were essentially smaller, anti-submarine escort vessels.
K - Miscellaneous Vessels:
This was a broad category that could include vessels not fitting neatly into other groups.
Other examples:
D - Destroyers
L - Amphibious warfare ships
M - Minesweepers
R - Aircraft carriers
S - Submarines
Why a "K" Prefix?
While corvettes like the Flower-class were generally considered frigates, the "K" prefix could be used for various reasons. For example:
Some vessels were built or used in a role that didn't fit the standard classifications, leading them to be designated as "miscellaneous".
There might have been overlapping roles or special designations that resulted in a "K" prefix for these ships. "

Thanks for the info, Nick.
I'd like to know the name (and identification) of the corvette Pat was referring to.
Also (just out of curiosity) I wanted to know if the "k" was assigned randomly or if it was the first letter of a word?

Well I got that one right. Just so happened, some weeks ago I had been researching buoyancy while designing the motor barge. So I am still learning. 👍

Guessing does work WHO NEW
Rick

A ship's pennant number is a means to identify a particular ship for signalling purposes. The letter defines ship type, eg R for aircraft carrier D for destroyer etc, and the number is the ships number within that class. For example R-08 was R = HMS Ark Royal, 08 being the ships number in that group or squadron. Hope that is clear...

Hi Pat, what do you mean by "Pennant Number"?
I was referring to the letter before the numbers that usually appear on the side (on the bow): F for frigate, D for destroyed, C for cruiser, etc.
What unit are you referring to? Can you tell me the name of this old corvette?

Alessandro

The Royal Navy does not have any ship designated as Corvettes at the moment - when they did they had a Pennant Number beginning with K.

Just my two penneth worth


Pat

Good morning everyone, it's true, it's a very easy question, but I've noticed something.
I don't know if you're aware of it as well.

Within NATO, many navies (or rather, I'd say all of them) made no distinction between corvettes and frigates.
In fact, they were all designated with the letter F.
I remember the Italian Minerva class of corvettes (from F 551 to F 558, displacing 1,875 tons and 87 meters in length), contemporary with the Maestrale class of frigates (from F 570 to F 577, displacing 3,040 tons and 122 meters in length).
Both the Minerva class of corvettes and the Maestrale class of frigates are designated with the NATO designation F (i.e., frigate).
The Italian Navy no longer has corvettes but patrol vessels, designated by the letter P. Interestingly, the Thaon di Revel-class patrol vessels, 143 meters long and displacing 6,270 tons at full load (classified PPA), have a length of 143 meters.

In fact, I've noticed that since the 2000s, frigate tonnage has increased in all navies.

As you say a no brainer for us ex Navy men, which is more than I can say about those complex questions on Meteorology!

What a question for someone who spent nearly 40 years working on naval vessels of all classes from Patrol Boats to Aircraft Carriers😁😊
A 'No Brainer' - which is good for me coz I aint got no bwain no more🤔

😎
(Only 11 more days now to the next hike up - to 97%. IF I get some more No Brainers like this.)

I never knew that - thanks for the knowledge share - I have to confess my knowledge of Italian is very limited

Hey Pat, do you know why we call Bermuda sails Marconi sails in Italy? Because they have the triangular shape of the first antennas developed by the Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi.

Also I would imagine AI knowledge of square riggers is very limited it’s a niche subject

I agree with all that Alessandro - I think modern ships may differ as some sails and rigs are more efficient that the traditional ones

Yes, Pat, you're absolutely right.
Some hoisted sails are Bermuda (or Marconi) type, but I'm only referring to the AI's question and answer.
In QoD, the scope is very narrow; it talks about "traditional three-masted full-rigged ships," "mizzenmasts," "spankers," and "square sails."

To recap, my statement is this: in a traditional three-masted full-rigged ship, the sails that characterize the foremast are only the square sails (those already mentioned: crossjack; mizzen lower top sail; mizzen upper top sail; mizzen topgallant sail; mizzen royal and mizzen skysail) and a gaff sail aft (the spancker or driver). No spankers may be aft.

Now that I think about it, many months ago, before Pat joined this site, I asked a question.
I wanted to know the exact English translation of the Italian term "randa."
I realized that the English term (unlike the Italian, which was attributed to the shape and not the position) varied depending on the position.
However, the only one who answered me correctly (only today can I say this after receiving other feedback) was Jumpugly.

Also you might like to look again what you have posted in your last paragraph

There used to be at least two sail training topsail schooners in the uk that had Bermudan mizzens

Alessandro I agree with you on a three masted ship but on a brig the spanker is aft of the main mast on a ship that has more than three masts the spanker is on the aftermost mast.

I believe the spanker (or driver) is only aft of the mizzen mast.
Staysails between masts are not spankers.
The answer explicitly mentions spankers.
I think that for a sail to be properly relative to a mast, it must be hoisted on a pole connected to that mast. This pole can be the yard of square sails or the peak of gaff sails (spanker or driver).
In short, both jibs and staysails (triangular sails) are always hoisted between two masts.
Jibs are hoisted between the bowsprit and the foremast, while staysails are hoisted between the foremast and the mainmast or between the mainmast and the mizzen.

I hope I translated correctly, otherwise it's impossible to understand what I'm saying.

In other words, the typical sails of the foremast are: Spanker or Driver; crossjack; mizzen lower top sail; mizzen upper top sail; mizzen topgallant sail; mizzen royal and mizzen skysail.

TBH - I have never seen a rig like that but the spanker in this case would most definitely be on the mizzen I can only make a guess that the fore and aft sail on the main would be a main stay sail

The Flying Dutchman sail plan 1852...so if you have a boom for your spanker aft of your main mast, does that take precedent over fore of the mizzen? My head hurts now.
😂
😉

Spanker is always on the aftermost mast of the vessel despite the number of mast the said vessel has in the case of a Brig the Spanker can be on the main mast

Here's a great phot that I scanned from my "Tea Clippers" book by David MacGregor that shows the "Vanguard" (circa 1852) with a spanker fore of the mizzen, but is the correct definition aft of the main?
Will keep looking.
😉

That picture illustrates my point that all the mast have fore and aft sails on them

Although I got it right, thank you Mr. MacGregor, I think the AI
may have thought a main mast spanker may have had something to do with the forward of the mizzen? Notice the layout on "Challenge" circa 1851? I will go through my MacGregor books and see if I can find a mizzen with spankers forward.

🤔🤔🤔

I agree with Pat.
The correct answer, though easily identifiable, didn't entirely convince me.
In fact, on the mizzen mast, the spanker sail is only aft, not forward.
Why is it also forward?
The forestay sails are located between the mizzen and mainmasts.

Oops! I should know better.
Roy

The first 2 are obviously false and the third not true either, so by my limited powers of deduction the fourth must be what they want. 🤔

After a logical sift through the proposed answers the solution revealed it's self...

I find this question very ambiguous but do to the choices I got it right
True the mizzen does carry a spanker but between the fore and the main and the main and the mizzen there are stay sails and it can be argued that one way or another they are attached to the mast although I admit not directly like a spanker

We've had this one before as well.
Got it right this time😀

😎

Mr. MacGregor himself would have beat me with his shillelagh if I had gotten this one wrong.
👍🏻😆

AS far as I am concerned that what this is all about learning - not looking up the answer before posting like some do !

Another luckily guess, as I know nothing about sailing ships.
I am doing well again.🙏