Skipper Business Card

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by CSY Man

Not sure the USCG provides the label 'Captain'.
Where have have you seen that?
My ticket says Master Mariner or some such thing. (100 ton only, not a Master of anything big, nor was I Captain in the military. Never called myself a Captain nor would I have it printed on no business card.)
I worked as a pilot on jumbo jets for awhile and the crew addressed me as the Captain, but the official title was Pilot in Command but my ticket only said Airline Transport Pilot.
A real Captain has earned the rank in military service.
Boat owners calling themselves Captain is a bit of a joke.

Hi CSY,

I believe we are all saying the same thing; differentiating between a commissioned officer in the military and a title that implies a rank.

My intent was not to denigrate the achievement of obtaining various licenses and endorsements, but to point out, as you did, the difference between what I termed rank vs. title [along with my feeble attempts to inject some humor...]

And you are right, our various tickets do not include the title 'Captain', nor have I ever used the title. It is implied once receiving the certification, and often used by the USCG when addressing a licensee for whatever reason. [This is reinforced on the USCG page regarding 'Charter Boat Captains'...]

Cheers!

Bill

[rwidman]

Regardless of some of the things that have been posted, the person running the boat is the "captain". Pull into a marina and you will be addressed as "captain". You don't need any certification or military service to be the captain, you just need to be the one with his or her hand on the wheel.

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by Svanen

Reminds me of a John Jensen cartoon in William Davis' The Corporate Infighter's Handbook (1984). It depicts two doors:

• The one the left is large and ornate, with the following inscription on its frosted glass window: "Assistant to the Personal Adviser of the Vice-Chairman's Secretary's Confidential Counsellor - By Appointment Only"
• The one on the right is normal sized and plain, with the following inscription on its frosted glass window: "Chairman. Enter"

What a great parallel. Thanks, Svanen.

I was thinking about the OP's initial question and just remembered a colleague from years ago who included the title "MD" [Medical Doctor] on his business card. After I got to know him [working in a non-medical business...] I learned he had indeed achieved the title in a 3 year 'offshore educational institution'...

Though he couldn't practice medicine anywhere in the world but that small island nation, he must have enjoyed the [initial] respect the title elicited, and [in my mind] misled people by allowing them to address him as 'Doctor'.

Sadly, he was striving for credibility and respect, but in the end he was simply loosing both...

This serves as a reminder that we are individually responsible for our own credibility; and those we interact with choose whether to bestow respect. Both can be achieved [and/or lost] by our own hand...

Answering the OP's question regarding which title to print on a business card [and I'm differentiating between a business card (commercial) and boat card (about us and our boat) here...] it appears those who hold a valid USCG license for chartering can reasonably use the title 'Charter Boat Captain' per the website I linked in my earlier post.

Best wishes everyone.

Cheers!

Bill

[Svanen]

Originally Posted by rwidman

Pull into a marina and you will be addressed as "captain".

Certainly true, although I wouldn't necessary infer much from that practice.

The worse the boat-handling skills of the owner or (especially) charterer, the more the dock boys will compliment him and repeatedly call him "captain" … as that sort of insincere flattery often results in handsome tips.

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by Cap Erict3

The root of the term is somewhat more open.
Capit & capt are the root-words for many other words.

I am a fan of a chapeau👌

I like a good chapeau also....

That reminds me I'll have to look for my Captain's hat with all the gold braid next time I have a party to attend...

Cheers!

Bill

[CSY Man]

.
And you are right, our various tickets do not include the title 'Captain', nor have I ever used the title. It is implied once receiving the certification, and often used by the USCG when addressing a licensee for whatever reason. [This is reinforced on the USCG page regarding 'Charter Boat Captains'...]

Aha, so there is a reference to "Captain" within the US Coast Guard?
I never looked for it and only assumed, wrongly I guess, that Captain was a protected title although I am of course aware it is used widely.
In fact when I negotiate with my boat insurer I keep telling them that I have a USCG Captains license and I should get a discount accordingly.
Otherwise I refer to my quals as holding a "100 ton ticket".

Perhaps I should re-read the original question, I thought you were asking if any boat operator should print business cards with a "Captains" title on it.
I guess anybody driving a boat is really a "Master", whether licensed or not as they are in charge of and responsible for the vessel.
The term for charter boaters have been "Credit Card Captains" for a long time and it sure fits judging by anchoring and maneuvering techniques..

(Yes we all started somewhere but some us tried to engage brain before going boating)

[StuM]

Originally Posted by rwidman

Regardless of some of the things that have been posted, the person running the boat is the "captain". Pull into a marina and you will be addressed as "captain". You don't need any certification or military service to be the captain, you just need to be the one with his or her hand on the wheel.

The critical word being "the".

You don't need certification or military service to be thecaptain while you are in command of a vessel.

You do need certification or military service to be a captain when you are not currently in control of a vessel.

Therefore don't put it on you business card (or in your forum name ) unless you hold the appropriate commission.

(And even then only if you want to look like a pretentious twat in my eyes )

[CSY Man]

(And even then only if you want to look like a pretentious twat in my eyes

Like..

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by StuM

The critical word being "the".

You don't need certification or military service to be thecaptain while you are in command of a vessel.

You do need certification or military service to be a captain when you are not currently in control of a vessel.

Therefore don't put it on you business card (or in your forum name ) unless you hold the appropriate commission.

(And even then only if you want to look like a pretentious twat in my eyes )

I don't believe that is a universal sentiment or that anybody is enforcing that. There are a couple of "captains" working around my marina. One gives boating instructions, the other details boats.


BTW: There are a lot of things you can do to look like a "pretentious twat".

[CSY Man]

. I don't believe that is a universal sentiment or that anybody is enforcing that. There are a couple of "captains" working around my marina. One gives boating instructions, the other details boats.

No enforcement, this is the Land of the Free after all.
Call yourself whatever you want.

Enough crackpots call themselves Doctor, President or Captain, whatever.

As for doing the right thing, such as earning your title or credentials...

[denverd0n]

So, all this talk, and especially the mention of the captain's hat made me think of one of my all-time favorite movies: "Father Goose," starring Cary Grant. In it, he would switch between wearing a nautical-style hat when he was on his boat, to a fedora when he was on land. I didn't even notice this switching back and forth the first few times I watched the movie, but now that I have noticed it really is a kind of funny little bit.