Is good seamanship just about skill on the water? Or is there more to it if you want to be considered a true master of your craft?Red Ruby came within seconds of winning the 2023 Middle Sea Race overall. Photo: Kurt Arrigo\/RolexWhat is seamanship? The Oxford dictionary defines seamanship as \u2018the skill, technique or practice of handling a ship at sea\u2019. But the more I\u2019ve dug into it, I\u2019ve realised seamanship has just about as many definitions as there are captains.
\nThe word seamanship has been used since the 1700s. Just as the \u2018ship\u2019 in leadership implies mastery, \u2018seamanship\u2019 is about being an expert seaman. If it was thought up today, I imagine it would be \u2018sailor-ship\u2019 \u2013 but don\u2019t panic, this column isn\u2019t about new-age terminology.
\nA few centuries ago, seamanship was everything involved in getting from one port to another \u2018shipshape and in Bristol fashion\u2019 \u2013 keeping the crew alive, the decks scrubbed and the boat floating. Today the details have modernised but the basis remains. It\u2019s about parking a boat as if you\u2019ve done it a hundred times before, trimming sails and helming as naturally as walking, and navigating on time and safely. Seamanship, in short, is the mastery of sailing.
\nYet to be considered a master of something involves more than just talent.
\nIn October I skippered a team in the Rolex Middle Sea Race. Following the race, fellow competitor Francesco Giordano, skipper of the X-41 Adrigole II, sent me a report he\u2019s written of his race, which described an encounter we\u2019d had minutes after the start.
\nOur fleet of 21 boats were squeezing out of Valletta\u2019s Grand Harbour towards the first mark of the course, a Rolex-branded yellow inflatable buoy. Adrigole II, with Francesco at the helm, was just ahead and to windward. On Noisy Oyster, our chartered J\/122, we accelerated and gained an overlap before the three-length zone. But, with an amateur crew and 600 miles to go, I wasn\u2019t prepared to take any risks.
\nSo, I called over to him.
\n\u201cAll good to assume you are going to give us room?\u201d My crew, thankfully, stayed quiet. I\u2019d briefed them that if we found ourselves in this type of scenario,
\nI could manage the communication myself. There\u2019s nothing more aggressive \u2013 and unclear \u2013 than nine people all screaming from the rail.
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Francesco replied in agreement, and waved us through. We rounded cleanly \u2013 but of course our kite hoist didn\u2019t go quite to plan and he pulled ahead again.
\nIn his race report, Francesco described our brief exchange (translated loosely from Italian) as \u2018a nod that demonstrated mutual trust between sailors; a moment that distilled the essence of seamanship\u2019.
\nI was touched to read that he felt the respect and professionalism I\u2019d intended. But, his report also raised the question: what is the \u2018essence of seamanship\u2019? Is it really just the technical ability to handle a boat, or does it also include the attitude with which we treat our fellow sailors?
\nSomeone can have impeccable seamanship and never need to interact with anyone \u2013 solo ocean sailors prove that every day. So, seamanship doesn\u2019t necessarily include leadership or even teamwork; it\u2019s about judgement, care, and respect for the sea. But behaviour still matters.
\nCourtesy to other competitors avoids distraction and conflict. Yes, the core of seamanship is skill. But character is also a component.
\nFor sailors skippering crewed boats, leading others is part of your seamanship. In the 1700s, a threat of walking the plank was persuasive enough to garner authority and obedience. There wasn\u2019t much need for collaboration. But still, earning the respect of the crew was no less vital.
\nWhat about ashore? Is a skipper who is professional at sea but impatient in the chandlery queue or a drunken liability in the pub a \u2018good seaman\u2019? Strictly by definition, yes they are. But seamanship and conduct are entwined because seamanship is in part earned. Earned by reputation as well as by skill.
\nA CEO can\u2019t have an affair at a Coldplay concert and keep their job; a politician can\u2019t break their own rules and stay in office. The same is increasingly true in sailing. Drunken sailors could once \u2018get up to no-good\u2019 and it was just what sailors did. How much you could drink might only strengthen your reputation! Today, how we carry ourselves is scrutinised much more sharply. Those who master their craft become role models.
\nSo, for anyone shooting for seamanship, you\u2019re forewarned. You\u2019ll no longer be judged by skill alone.<\/p>\n
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Is good seamanship just about skill on the water? Or is there more to it if you want to be considered a true master of your craft?Red Ruby came within seconds of winning the 2023 Middle Sea Race overall. Photo: … <\/p>\n