When is a Captain not a Captain?

[StuM]

I like to be called Master.
And if you forget, I break out the cuffs, spreader bar and ball-gag.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by StuM

I like to be called Master.
And if you forget, I break out the cuffs, spreader bar and ball-gag.

So which is your favorite bait boat? ) )
http://www.baitboatreviews.co.uk/

[rgscpat]

Walt Whitman (and the captain of the ship of state),
1
O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart! 5
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

2

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.

3

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

[rgscpat]

What are you going to call a Captain of the Port?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Some folks confuse the job role of captain with a rank or title. Every vessel has a captain (the person whom officialdom can blame for what the vessel does!) and who makes the "buck stops here" decisions aboard (whether their approach is collegiate or Bligh)....but none of that entitles someone to a rank or title, onboard or ashore.....no matter what their hat says!

[rgscpat]

"A guy who was blamed by officaldom for what his vessel did."
You mean, a real, titled ocean master like this guy here...

[Ex-Calif]

I thnk if you work your way up the ranks (and dress right!) you deserve to be a Captain

1997 - Elton John was a Queen
1998 - Elton John became a Knight (because some wet bint touched him with a sword? You're my lord? I think not! It's repression of the working class , I say!)
2007 - Became a Captain! and he looks Mahvelous!

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

I thnk if you work your way up the ranks (and dress right!) you deserve to be a Captain

1997 - Elton John was a Queen
1998 - Elton John became a Knight (because some wet bint touched him with a sword? You're my lord? I think not! It's repression of the working class , I say!)
2007 - Became a Captain! and he looks Mahvelous!

I wonder if H.R.M. .....ever fought the urge to thrust rather than place gently on a shoulder or two?
I can supply a list of suitable candidates......

[JPA Cate]

weavis:

You've got a little list, and they'd none of them be missed! ;-D

Ann

[Svanen]

This thread reminded me of the following sentence from Patrick and June Ellam, Wing Song: Our Ten Years in the Yacht Delivery Business: "If a man wore khaki (or a funny hat) or called himself Captain or presented worn references, he would never work out …" (page 216).

If someone with a 50-ton near coastal ticket chooses to style themselves (without irony) as "Captain", that is certainly their privilege. On the other hand, if others see them as a pathetic poser, that is their risk.

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

When an official, or the person on the other end of a radio contact calls me "captain", I take it as merely a polite means of address.

When someone who needs to know asks "who is the captain (meaning in charge of the vessel) here", I admit to the title if I am indeed in charge.

But if I were to refer to myself in a social situation as "Captain Jim", I would risk being a pretentious *******. So I don't do that! This does not preclude being a P.A. in some other way.

Jim nailed it!

Originally Posted by Dennis.G

This "fact" is often heard, but I suspect is an exaggeration of reality.

The COLREGS do not change depending on if you have a license or not....

Of course if licensed and operating a charter business or some such professional operation, your liabilities are increased, just as with any business. Not really a function of having a license, but a result of running a business.

Correct. This higher standard of care stuff is largely 'received wisdom' that is passed on without significant basis in reality.

From a tort perspective, the person in charge is always obliged to exercise reasonable care towards other vessels, and towards other people on his own vessel. That duty exists regardless of his possession or lack of formal qualifications.

It's certainly true that a licensed mariner can lose his licence, and an unlicensed one cannot. But that's only stating the obvious (can't lose what you didn't have in the first place), and is no reason for an amateur to avoid seeking professional certification if he desires.

[weavis]

Just finished doing some early morning fault finding on the #3 nephew boat.Replaced some wiring and made a grommet to fit a hole and tight bend where the cable goes through a bulkhead.

There are a number of English traits that amuse me. One is the habit of nick naming things or people. For example, when I was drilling out the hole for the grommet, it required some gentle 'persuasive' tactics to clear the debris, and I asked #3 for a hammer to chip off the edge.. "one Wigan Micrometer" coming up he said as he passed it to me.

On this particular site where the vessel is at the moment, there is a man in his 80s who looks after things who is refered to as "Cap'n Mac" even though he hates the water and boats.

One marina up the coast is another guy called "Captain Chav" who is a loudmouth and a magician. (Things disappear when he is around. )

His buddy is called "Deep Pockets Dave". It is rumoured that he has never bought a drink for anyone in his life and disappears when its he has to pay for anything.

The T.V. program here in the U.K. Top Gear, one of the presenters is nicknamed "Captain Slow".

In the small boat fishing fraternity as a 'youf', if we went out in group, (sometimes 10 boats) to an area further than our normal range, natural selection would pick Harold Lowe as our leader due to his seamanship. (A.K.A. he had the biggest cuddy cabin boat). He was refered to as 'Cap Harry' or 'Commander Lowe' by the rest of us 16-19 year olds.... Harold was 18

My dog at the time was called Skipper" but was known as "skunky" on the boat scene because of his ability to sneak into places unseen and then fart silently and sneak out again as the deadly emissions took hold. He would get accused even if he was not present!

Poor old Skipper took the blame for every fart going and yet in my house I never witnessed him ever doing it....even the farts he got accused of at home smelled suspiciously like my dads.........

If someone needs a title very badly, and some do in order to make their lives seem a little bit more worthwhile, and I can understand that, then sea faring title 'Captain' is one which can be used with some legitimacy albeit tenuous.

The West Coast Florida boating scene for 6 pack events, was a great night out and everyone was refered to as 'captain'. Got boring real quick.

Back home for me now, finish some work and complete packing and head out for the airport later for my my flight to Mallorca, piloted no doubt by yet another Captain........

[Factor]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

weavis:

You've got a little list, and they'd none of them be missed! ;-D

Ann

An American in Australia quoting lines from English authors in a story about Japan.

How excellent is that.

In the tradition of adaption that that song has engendered, he is my attempt:

As some day it may happen that a victim must be found,
I've got a little list, I've got a little list
Of society offenders who might well be underground,
And who never would be missed, they never would be missed!
There's sailors who don't sail, dock queens and that sort
Dinghy theives who whinge the minute they get caught
Or those who have their dock lines just so
Or idiots who drop in for a drink and never will go
And people who couldn't sail out of sight, but call themselves Captain day and night
Those Captains not be missed, Not one of them be missed!
**Apologies to Gilbert and sullivan

[Pelagic]

Nice!

[Svanen]

Originally Posted by weavis

The West Coast Florida boating scene for 6 pack events, was a great night out and everyone was refered to as 'captain'. Got boring real quick.

Like the Confederate Air Force (or the Commemorative Air Force, as it is now known), where every member is referred to as "Colonel".

[darylat8750]

Originally Posted by Gaspee

I used to photograph church directories (yearbooks for churches.) What I always found interesting was that most men who had earned titles such as Doctor, Admiral, Reverend, etc. left off the title when giving their name for the family photo. It was the wife who insisted it be included.

At a neighbor's party the hostess kept referring to Bill as "The Judge". I told my wife if she ever referred to me as "The Captain" at a party she would be standing there by herself because I would just walk out the door.

Having said that one of my friends told me before I started cruising Latin America that a nice golf type shirt with "Captain" embroidered on it and a polite air of professionalism when dealing with foreign paperwork would go a long way towards reducing hassle. I had a couple of shirts made up with silhouettes of my boat with Captain over it. I don't have scientific evidence that it worked but I never had any hassles either.