Sarah Sails Trivia

GAME #1: NEW YORK TO CAPE HORN

1. What affliction did Sarah have?

Partial Deafness

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2. What appliance is not working well on the Sea Serpent?

The Stove

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3. Who was the famous daguerreotypist who took Willie’s photo?

Jeremiah Gurney

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4. What pet does Sarah have onboard ship?

A BIRD

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5. What political satire was Willie drawn to?
6. What book did Sarah and Williams love that was written by the future first president of the University of Michigan?

A Step from the New World to the Old and Back Again”

by Professor Henry Tappan

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7. How many days is the journey?

317 DAYS

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8. Where did Sarah, Williams and Willie stay when they were in New York City?

THE ASTOR HOUSE

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9. What is the name of the phenomenon where the sea sparkles a neon blue, green or sometimes red color?

Bioluminescence

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10. Name 2 famous constellations in the Southern Sky.

CRUX – THE SOUTHERN CROSS

ORION THE HUNTER

(or many others)

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11. Who were the first explorers to use the Drake Passage around Cape Horn?

Isaac Le Maire and Willem Schouten

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12. What is the most southerly point of South America?

The Diego Ramirez Islands

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13. What author started his novel with the infamous phrase “It was a dark and stormy night”?

Edward Bulwer-Lytton

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14. What were the names of the brothers who wrote many biographies in the 1800’s that were even read by Abraham Lincoln?

John S.C. Abbott and Jacob Abbott

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15. What is the name of the town where Williams was born and raised?

NEW BEDFORD (Massachusetts)

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GAME #2: CAPE HORN TO SAN FRANCISCO

1. What activity was popular in 1853 as a means of contacting the spirit world?
2. What landmark building did Sarah take a carriage ride to visit while in San Francisco?

MISSION DOLORES

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Journal Entry

3. What woman with whom Sarah was acquainted was known for her beautiful San Francisco gardens and was thought to have brought the first female Chinese immigrant to America?

MRS. CHARLES VAN MEGEN GILLESPIE

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4. Who was the famous daughter of the man who ran the raffles at the Chinese Exhibition Room?

ISADORA DUNCAN

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5. What method of solving disputes was popular in the wild west of 1853 San Francisco?

DUELS

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Journal Entry

6. Who collected data from thousands of ships around the world in 1853 to help improve navigation using wind and current charts?

LIEUTENANT MATTHEW FONTAINE MAURY, US NAVY

In addition to winds and currents, they tracked ship traffic, weather patterns, trade winds, ocean temperatures, storm and rain charts, and whale migration patterns.

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7. How many sails did the Sea Serpent have?
8. How many voyages did Williams Howland make on the Sea Serpent?
9. Where did the crew sleep on a clipper ship and where was it located?

The crew slept in the forecastle, at the front of the ship, before the mast.

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10. What were the 4 main routes to the California Gold Rush in 1853?

Around the Horn, Overland, Panama Route, Nicaragua Route

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11. What ship hit a rock on its way to California from Nicaragua killing over 100 people?

THE SS INDPENDENCE

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12. What famous person survived the SS Tennessee sinking and started a clothing phenomenon?

LEVI STRAUSS

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13. What book was Sarah forbidden to read as a child?

ARABIAN NIGHTS

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14. Who was the famous opera singer who sang in San Franciso during the Gold Rush?

CATHERINE HAYES

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15. What organnization was started by a descendant of Sarah with the mission of helping those who are hard of hearing?

THE NITCHIE SERVICE LEAGUE

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