Competent Crew — Basics Practice Questions

A. Port and starboard change depending on which way the boat is facing

B. Port is the left-hand side and starboard is the right-hand side of the boat, when facing forward (toward the bow) — these terms are fixed to the boat itself, not to the direction you happen to be looking

C. Port refers to the front of the boat and starboard refers to the back

D. These terms are only used on larger commercial vessels, never on small craft

A. Always move as quickly as possible regardless of conditions

B. Keep one hand for yourself and one for the boat — maintain a secure handhold wherever practical, and move deliberately rather than rushing, especially in any kind of sea state

C. It doesn't matter how you move around, as long as you get where you need to be

D. Only the skipper needs to think about safe movement around the boat

A. None — safety equipment is entirely the skipper's responsibility to manage without involving crew

B. Where lifejackets are kept and how to put yours on correctly, where the liferaft and emergency equipment are stowed, and the basics of what to do if someone goes overboard — a proper skipper briefs the whole crew on this before or shortly after departure

C. Safety equipment locations only need to be known by crew members over a certain age

D. This information is only relevant on passages longer than 24 hours