How many crew members have been left feeling uncomfortable when their captain gives an order but they aren’t sure exactly what was meant by it?

You don’t want to appear naive or difficult, so you don’t ask.

Not asking is a huge mistake.

Every order at sea must be crystal clear and there can be no misunderstanding about the intent of the order. The sea will not forgive the excuse “I didn’t understand what he meant.”

Do you know what standing orders are?

Standing orders are usually precise and to the point. Usually, no deviation is allowed for standing orders, and they apply to all crew equally. They are generally cut in stone, yet every captain or every boat may have different ones. Violating a standing order may result in severe discipline and/or termination. 

A simple standing order may be no sleeping while on watch. You can see why this cannot be tolerated. Such action would probably get you put on the first plane out at the next port.

Some captains have standing orders for crew when they are standing watch while under way, or how the log book is filled out and how often entries are made in it.

Usually there are two crew doing a wheel watch. One will be responsible for maintaining course, observing instruments and maintaining a proper lookout, while the other will assist in maintaining a proper lookout, do engine room checks and bilge checks, do deck checks and fill out the log, as directed by the standing order left.

There may be a standing order that no one is forward outside at night while under way. The captain may also leave a standing order that at no time will an approaching vessel have a cpa (closest point of approach) of less than two miles, and should that vessel breach that two-mile zone he is to be awakened immediately. This can be setup on your radar to alert you when a vessel breaches that zone.

The captain doesn’t want to hear in the morning, “We had a close call but I didn’t want to wake you.” No competent captain is going to fault you for erring on the side of caution.

You, as crew, need to be aware that your captain is responsible for everything you do, right or wrong. If you don’t wake the captain and you end up in a close-quarters situation, he is responsible if you have that collision. You will lose your job, but your captain could possibly lose his career. And that’s at the very least, not mentioning the possible loss of life and/or loss of vessel.

There are other types of standing orders, such as “on-watch orders.” This would be when you are in port and you are “on watch that day.” Does that “day” consists of 24 hours or 12 hours? And what are you responsible for? Making sure everything on the vessel is OK? Doing engine room checks, bilge checks, deck checks? Making sure everything is operating the way it should? Who do you call if everything goes pear shaped? What is the directive in the standing order?

Orders should be in writing

The list of standing orders should be in writing and presented to you when you first come aboard. You should have been asked to sign an acknowledgement that you have read it and understand what is expected of you. If you don’t understand, ask.

Some new crew members don’t know what “on deck at 0700” means exactly. On my boat, it doesn’t mean get up a 0700, make coffee, have a bagel, brush your teeth, watch the morning news, check your e-mail and then get on deck around 0830 and see what’s going on.

On deck at 0700 means standing on deck at 0700 ready to start work, having gotten up early enough to get your breakfast, morning e-mails and anything else deemed pertinent out of the way.

Every captain is different, so ask yours when you are hired what his definition of “on deck at such-and-such time” means.

Question him as to what he means by “on board by 10 p.m.” Does that mean literally on board or is on the dock near the boat with your radio on sufficient?

If you are the chef on board, are you required to carry a radio? Remember to ask pertinent questions for the position for which you were hired.

Does having the day off mean the whole day or just after you finish this short list that may take four hours? Does it mean you can leave the boat? And if so, are you required to take a radio with you? If you have a radio, you can be reasonably sure the captain will expect you to answer it if he calls. Can you stay ashore for the night or do you have to spend all nights on board?

If you have watch and you have a social function that you want to attend, can you switch your watch with another crew member? And if you do and the other crew member doesn’t show up, who takes the heat? On some boats, you own that watch. If your replacement doesn’t show, it’s your responsibility.

If you haven’t asked, I would be careful before just making a watch switch and thinking it will be OK. Is there a standing order for this or not?

Remember that all captains are different. Follow the orders that are clear to you, and always, always question the intent of the order if you do not understand. This will keep you on the good side of most captains.

 Capt. Lee Rosbach has been a yacht captain for 25 years. Comments on this article are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.