NAT THE NAVIGATOR
Nat’s full name.
Nathaniel Bowditch
What did sailors call the food they ate at sea?
Rations
What was Nat’s home port city?
Salem
What subject did Nat use to teach sailors how to navigate and “cipher” for themselves?
Math
Nat’s father worked as a cooper (a barrel maker).
True
City Nat grew up in.
Salem, Massachusetts
What common sailor sickness did Nat help prevent by bringing lemons and oranges?
Scurvy
What country was the port of Canton located in?
China
What tool did sailors use to measure the height of the stars above the horizon?
Sextant
True or False: Nat Bowditch had a college education.
False
Job Nat had as a young apprentice.
Clerk/bookkeeper in a ship chandlery (store for sailors)
What does “sail by ash breeze” mean?
Work hard using your own effort when there’s no wind to help you
Name one European country Nat visited on his early voyages.
Spain or France
What direction do compasses always point, and why was this important to sailors like Nat Bowditch?
North — because it helped sailors orient their maps and chart accurate courses.
Nat always said mathematics was “perfect.”
True!
What did Nat study on his own at night?
Math, navigation, Latin and other foreign languages
What was Nat’s job on board the ship Henry?
Supercargo (he handled the trading and business)
What major ocean did Nat cross to reach the East Indies?
The Indian Ocean
What do sailors call the “imaginary line” that circles the Earth halfway between the poles?
The Equator
Nat believed only people with college degrees could understand navigation.
False!
What was the name of the book Nat later published?
The American Practical Navigator
Name one skill every good sailor needed besides navigation.
tying knots, steering, reading maps, teamwork, etc.
What dangerous landmark did Nat’s ship sail around to reach Asia?
Cape Horn (South America)
What do we call lines that measure how far north or south you are from the Equator?
Latitude
True or False: Nat wrote his navigation book in one year.
False. It took several years.